Somewhere, Red Auerbach Smiles
By Kevin Henkin
Somewhere, Red Auerbach smiles and takes a drag on a thick wet cigar. Recall his choice words of frustration following Boston’s dismal 2005-06 season: “Young talent, old talent, all I’m interested in is winning. I remember a baseball team that went through a youth movement for fifteen years! We’ve got a young team. So what? We want somebody to win!” If winning is what you want, winning is what you can expect to get following a nearly complete roster overhaul this off season with the pending trade for Kevin Garnett.
For those that bemoan the loss of both Al Jefferson and Gerald Green, I strongly encourage you to make your way through the seven stages of grief, whatever they are, then put your little hankies away and join the rest of us in celebration. The green ink is drying on 2008 playoff tickets as we speak. The focal point of Celtics basketball is no longer some distant unspecified point in the future where an aged Paul Pierce is dragged to glory by Jefferson and his merry gang of glorified role players. The future is now, friends. Finally. Seize the day. Enjoy the fact that in a span of mere weeks, your Boston Celtics have become relevant and dangerous again.
For those who complain that the Celtics gave away too much to obtain a player with a lot of miles on his sneakers, you may have a point. It’s a big package and much has been sacrificed. If you also wish to point out that the new core trio are all on the wrong side of their prime, that may also be so. Here’s the thing, though. Young superstars either entering or smack in the middle of their prime are simply not available. LeBron James is going nowhere, nor is Chris Bosh or Dwight Howard or Gilbert Arenas or Dwayne Wade or…well, you get the point. This leaves the players with a little risk attached to them. Garnett’s risk isn’t even age-related so much as it is the number games he’s played in the NBA beginning at such a young age, hence the mileage tag. Even so, he’s still KEVIN GARNETT, a bona fide stud player on both ends of the court who still in all likelihood has some serious miles left in the tank. Therefore, his price tag was inevitably going to be high, even with Kevin McHale involved in the equation. The Wolves weren’t going to take Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and an autographed picture of Fred Roberts. The Celtics had to give in order to get, and get they did, and in doing do they got immeasurably better as a team.
As Red said, we want somebody to win. That someone, a force in nearly every aspect of the game, is about to arrive. Take notice and save the tears for the poor folks in Minnesota.
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Now remaining on Ainge’s to-do list is rounding out the roster by filling the empty spots with a veteran point guard and a backup center. Alas, there is more work to be done and the choices made may become a deciding factor come late spring 2008. Perkins needs help down low and is far too unreliable health-wise to truly depend upon. Rondo has shown flashes of terrific talent but the team also needs a veteran presence at floor general. If Ainge doesn’t have recently released Brevin Knight’s agent on speed dial already, I’d be sorely disappointed. As for relatively cheap big men, the market is predictably thin. P.J. Brown is elderly but available and would still add value as a role player. Most rumors have mentioned either retirement or a contract with Phoenix as the two likely possibilities for Brown but perhaps the Garnett landing in Boston changes that perspective.
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A few random thoughts on the players reported to be included in the trade.
Gerald Green - The true “X Factor” of the trade. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see if the light every truly clicks on inside Green’s head. The desire is there. The raw talent is there. Flip a coin and you have as good a chance of being right about Green’s future as anyone else at this point.
Sebastian Telfair - At some point during the trade discussions, the phrase “But you have to take Telfair” had to have been uttered, and with conviction. “No, I mean it, Kevin. Telfair’s in or I’m walking away. I mean it.”
Al Jefferson - God, he was fun to watch, wasn’t he? Those terrific hands and that nifty footwork that cannot be taught, only honed. Jefferson even developed a personality during his time here. For example, on media day last fall, he was asked a series of questions about his off season weight loss, including this one: “So you won’t be going into McDonalds anymore?” His response? “Nope.” Then after a pause, he added, “Drive thru.” Big Al will be truly missed for all of his various gifts.
