After snoring through the NBA Finals hoping to see some decent basketball (and being sorely disappointed), I was looking forward to the draft because the Celtics had pick number five and I had high hopes. There was a possibility of getting a pretty decent player at that position to add to the growing roster of young players in Boston. And what did the Celtics do? They traded the pick, along with one of the young leaders of the team, Delonte West, to Seattle for aging all start Ray Allen. You’ve got to be kidding me.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Danny Ainge is a nice guy (I’ve met him) and was a great role player for the Celtics of the 1980s, but I really think he’s been doing a lousy job managing the team. This move really trumps all the other lousy ones. Why give up a young guard that’s starting to come into his own and the possibility of adding another talented player for a 31 year old player who’s legs are practically bionic after multiple surgeries?

The Celtics do have a long tradition of getting good players on the backend of their careers. Does anyone remember that Dominique Wilkins once wore the green? How about Gary Payton and Kenny Anderson? The only one that really worked out was Bill Walton, who helped the Celtics win one last championship over two decades ago. That’s the only type of situation where a move like this makes sense: a good, solid team that needs some solid backup performers. The Celtics now are at least three players away from being contenders, which makes a move like this completely dumb.

Doc Rivers seems to be pushing to get players now to make a push (of course he is, his job is on the line if they don’t start winning), but that’s the wrong way to go right now. The Celtics should resign themselves to rebuilding. Delonte West was starting to show signs, as was Gerald Green and Al Jefferson. The Celtics have no center, so they could have drafted Yi Jianlian who could at the very least take up a lot of space while he developed. Adding in Paul Pierce as an established veteran and go-to guy, the Celtics could have had an interesting lineup. Now, you inject Allen, leaving the Celtics with holes at point guard and center.

At this point, I feel bad for Paul Pierce. He got his veteran teammate that he asked for, but at what cost? Does this really make the Celtics a better team? No way. It gives Pierce someone to bitch with as the Celtics continue to lose games. I think Pierce deserves a lot better and should have the opportunity to play for a contender. I wish that the contender could be the Celtics, but I fear that time is far enough away that Pierce won’t see it. Just like Antoine Walker had to go to the Heat to play for a contender, I think Pierce should go elsewhere, to a team where he doesn’t have to babysit young talent for 3-4 years while we figure out if they’re any good.

It seems like when the Celtics didn’t get the first or second picks this year, they just decided to mail in the draft. Big mistake. Do you know what a huge difference one player can make? There was a guy who was drafted number six in 1978. He hadn’t won a college championship but showed some promise. The Celtics had won around 20 games the year before and won around 60 after his first year; that player was Larry Bird. Don’t tell me pick number five had no potential (and ask Miami who they picked with number five in 2003).

Disclaimer: Any viewpoints and opinions expressed in this article are those of Nicholas C. Zakas and do not, in any way, reflect those of Yahoo!, Wrox Publishing, O'Reilly Publishing, or anyone else. I speak only for myself, not for them.

Both comments and pings are currently closed.