Blow Up The Celtics

Last year at the trading deadline, GM Danny Ainge made a controversial move in trading Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This trade was intended to help the Celtics for both the future and the present, yet it backfired horribly. Point guard Rajon Rondo went into a deep mental funk that he could not escape from, and the Celtics appeared to have lost their heart.

This offseason, Ainge attempted to make a major move for the Celtics, in his efforts to deal Rondo in a package deal for Chris Paul. This inevitably did not happen, and it was discovered that the rest of the NBA regards Rondo as some sort of head case, someone who, despite his obvious talent, will never reach his potential as a player. As such, the Celtics were stuck with an emotionally fragile Rondo, which may have ended up as an unmitigated disaster on all sides.

Ironically, Rondo is the one of the two players on the Celtics, along with Greg Stiemsma, who appear to care about this season. Kevin Garnett has emotionally and mentally checked out on this year, knowing that he is in the final year of his contract and is not coming back. Ray Allen just does not have the same quickness any longer, and would be better off as a bench scorer at this point in his career. Paul Pierce has been injured off and on all season, and just does not look the same. The Celtics have an aging roster, which does not bode well for playing 66 games in 120 days, especially when younger, more athletic teams will have the advantage with this type of schedule.

So, what should the Celtics do at this point? Presently, they sit at 5-9 in a weak Eastern Conference. With the talent on their roster, they should be able to make the playoffs, where the theory is that they would turn on the competitive juices. Yet, the Celtics have yet to defeat a good opponent, their victories coming against the Detroit, Washington twice, New Jersey, and Toronto. Not exactly the best teams the NBA has to offer.

Given the present mindset of future free agents, where they want to play in cities like New York, LA, or Dallas for endorsements and/or marketability, the Celtics would seem to be on the outside when it comes to signing marquee players. As such, the Celtics need to make trades to acquire players for the long term. Given the value of the expiring contract, the Celtics actually have two trade pieces in both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Both veterans would help a contending team that would be able to put talent around them. Garnett needs a change of scenery as of yesterday. Suppose, hypothetically, he ends up with the Clippers. Being matched up with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul would reignite the spark for him, as he would see the possibility of getting a second championship. Or picture Ray Allen on a team like the Bulls, where he would be an upgrade over Kyle Korver. Both teams mentioned have pieces that would allow the Celtics to build for the future, and possibly even make a run at this year’s playoffs.

At any rate, the Celtics need to make some moves, and they need to make them now. Find a couple of pieces that, with Rajon Rondo, they can form a legitimate nucleus for long-term success. Otherwise, they will find themselves perpetually stuck in mediocrity, which is the worst place to be in the NBA.