Since he is a restricted free agent, the Celtics will be able to match offers made to Glen Davis.

MCT photo / Gary W. Green

BOSTON – The Celtics’ first priority this offseason will be deciding whether to bring back restricted free agent Glen Davis.

The Celtics have other free agents on their roster to consider bringing back –– namely Stephon Marbury, Leon Powe, Mikki Moore, Gabe Pruitt (team option) and Eddie House (player option) –– but Davis upped his value tremendously this season by stepping in for the injured Kevin Garnett and performing better than anyone could have expected him to.

The 23-year-old forward will certainly entertain some big offers from other teams who have ample salary cap space, which the Celtics don’t, but because he’s restricted, the Celtics can match any offer he receives beginning in July.

Davis earned $711,517 this year, but his new contract figures to be in the $5-million to $10-million range, and the Celtics might not match his price tag if it gets too high, especially since Davis would be coming off the bench, backing up Kevin Garnett.

“If I was a rookie, I’d be like, ‘Man, I want to stay here,’ but now I understand that it’s a business,” Davis said. “I love the staff here. I love the coaches. I love everybody here, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Hopefully it works out. If it not, then not. If I have to go somewhere else, I’ll go somewhere else.”

Davis proved he can be a solid starting forward for any NBA team by averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds while knocking down 49.1 percent of his shots in the playoffs. And he proved that he can be called upon in the clutch when he won Game Four of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the buzzer with a 21-foot jumper, trying the series with Orlando at 2-2.

Now he is playing a waiting game.

“Baby plays with tremendous confidence,” Boston captain Paul Pierce said. “He’s shown the ability to be poised down the stretch and he’s hit some big shots throughout the season for us.”

Davis said signing a bigger contract is not what motivated him to perform well in the playoffs.

“I only thought about helping my team win,” Davis said. “I never thought about getting paid or what [the Celtics] were going to do. It is what it is.”

Davis took it very hard when Orlando eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs. He felt like the world was on his shoulders because most NBA experts said that the Celtics could not advance to the Eastern Conference finals without Garnett.

He believed that he was good enough to fill Garnett’s shoes and help the Celtics advance.

“Without Kevin, we had me filling his shoes, so I’m my biggest critic,” Davis said. “We shouldn’t have any excuses like if Kevin was here, we should have still won. I’m going to take this one and understand the meaning of taking shots for the team. I have no excuses. We should have still won the game. I feel like we are still a better team than them.”

“The opportunity was there for me to close, and I didn’t close and get us to the (Eastern Conference) finals,” Davis added. “It’s something I need to look back on this summer and use as motivation to work harder. The opportunity is always there, and next time I need to be more prepared and ready to take my game to another level.”

No matter what happens this summer, Boston will always hold a special place in Davis’ heart. Seattle drafted “Big Baby” 35th overall in the 2007, and he was traded along with Ray Allen to Boston for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the rights to the fifth pick of the 2007 draft, Jeff Green.

“I love it here –– the city, the fans," said Davis. "The coaching staff has been really important [in the development] of my game. … [I got] my first start here, and I’m always going to have a soft spot for here. We won a championship here. I hope that it works out for the best and everybody is satisfied.”

Davis improved by leaps and bounds this season, working on his mid-range jumper, but that wasn’t fully realized until Garnett went down. He averaged just 4.5 points and 3 rebounds per game as a rookie, and 7 points and 4 rebounds in 76 regular-season games, including 16 starts this season.

But his numbers skyrocketed in the playoffs.

“I’ve done a lot for my game as far as doing some big things and maturing and all of that stuff, I’ve just been working hard,” Davis said. “I still have a long way to go, so hopefully everything works out.”

The Celtics need to strengthen their frontcourt this offseason, and Moore probably won’t be back. Because of Powe’s history of knee injuries, other teams will likely be scared off, and the Celtics should be able to sign him for a bargain price.

The Celtics might not be able to match Davis’ asking salary because of the enormous contracts that they have devoted to Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen. Davis said he is not going to lose any sleep over his future.

“You can’t worry about that,” Davis said. “You’ve done your part. It’s out of your hands. You’ve done your part. You’ve shown you can play. You’ve shown you can do things to help your team win, so it’s up to them and what they want to do about it.”

CELTICS FREE AGENTS

Glen Davis, PF

Eddie House, SG (player option for 2010)

Stephon Marbury, PG

Leon Powe, PF

Gabe Pruitt (team option for 2010)

Mikki Moore, PF/C

roblee@projo.com