Boston Celtics: Another Busy Offseason Coming Up for Danny Ainge

Also posted at FlyGuySports

While the Boston Celtics are still basking in the glory of their NBA title, the offseason is basically here, and Danny Ainge will have a few things to sort out.

A successful offseason from last year brought home a title, and even though Ainge probably won't be looking to make any drastic changes like he did last year, he will still be looking to keep his team well-structured.

Now that they are considered a championship-caliber team, they must remain that way and depending on how the team looks at the beginning of next season, that will determine whether they still have what it takes to remain the caliber team that they are now.

With many key Celtics becoming potential free-agents in the off-season, will be the Celtics only challenge going into next season?

A repeat isn't out of the question for this franchise. The Big Three are all signed up until 2010, and players like Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The core of this team won't be affected next season.

But there are six players who become potential free agents over the off-season—Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, James Posey, Scot Pollard, Tony Allen, and Eddie House. All of these players have played a crucial role in the Celtics being able to bring a title back to Boston; whether it was in the regular season or the postseason.

The only name that really doesn't really stick out at you in terms of importance to Boston's run at the title would most likely be Scot Pollard—no disrespect to Scot.

The chances of him remaining in a Celtics uniform are very slim. He can be effectively used to take up space in the paint for another team, but the Celtics really don't show any need for him, so he'll most likely be gone next season. Hell, retirement could be the next step for him if you consider his career not having an upside whatsoever.

If you look at P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell, their age is catching up to them as well, and they may be pondering retirement. P.J. Brown was called out of retirement, and his presence helped the Celtics in many ways, but he has his ring now and retiring may be his next option.

It is tough to see Brown coming back, especially considering the talent that's on the bench with players like Leon Powe, Glen Davis, etc. He's 38-years old and winning the NBA title may be the icing on the cake for his career.

The same standards apply for Cassell. He's also 38 and he was basically called in to bring his veteran presence to the team, and guide Rajon Rondo in the postseason. That he did, and now it may be a wrap for his career. The Celtics will probably look to get younger rather than older, and Cassell wouldn't help out that case.

The most important name of the bunch is James Posey.

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