The Free Shav movement has morphed into the Keep Shav crusade this summer.

The Boston Celtics have one more week to decide whether they'll keep Shavlik Randolph around for the 2013-14 season as his contract is set to become fully guaranteed on Aug 1. Imported from China late last season with Boston thin on big men, Randolph revitalized his NBA career by being a relentless rebounder in limited on-court opportunities, but his nonguaranteed contract leaves his future in a little bit of limbo at the moment.

Shavlik Randolph impressed with his work on the boards and says he's planning on remaining a Celtic. Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images

On the surface, it should be an easy decision for the Celtics. In a league sparsely populated with serviceable backup big men, 29-year-old Randolph and his rebounding talents would be a bargain -- and a luxury -- at $1.1 million.

Alas, the collective bargaining agreement -- and the luxury tax -- muddies things up with Boston's quest to (1) cut costs while currently standing on the tax apron and (2) create roster space.

In fact, the decision about whether to retain Randolph is essentially out of his control. Boston has a jammed-up frontcourt, one that's heavy on power forwards, and if the team doesn't believe it can move one of those contracts before training camp, it might have to begrudgingly part ways with him.

Make no mistake, this decision is unlikely to keep Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge up at night. We're talking about a player who was out of the NBA for nearly three years before Boston came calling last season.

But Randolph deserves the chance to stick around. Though he had a monster season in China, where he averaged 34 points and 15 rebounds per game, Randolph arrived with virtually no expectations but pledged to work hard and be a good teammate. He did just that and, despite coach Doc Rivers' reluctance to give him consistent minutes -- igniting the Free Shav movement -- Randolph was turned loose over the final 10 regular-season games and proved he could consistently impact the game with his rebounding.

Over 16 appearances, Randolph grabbed 26.3 percent of all available defensive rebounds during his time on the floor and 22.4 percent of all caroms overall. Those were the best numbers on the team, albeit in a small sample size of 198 minutes. When the Knicks went small in the playoffs, Randolph appeared for just three minutes in one game (grabbing three rebounds in that minuscule span, mind you).