Boston Celtics: Should They Break Up the Big Three?

In Inception, an idea was planted and from there, it proliferated through the subject's mind. Something similar has occurred to Celtics fans everywhere. The simple idea of blowing the Celtics up and beginning the rebuilding process this season was planted in the mind of all of Boston with one simple quote by an Eastern Conference official who said that there were “lots of calls asking if [Boston] will blow it up.”

That one statement has sent all of the Boston media into a frenzy and the subject has been hotly debated ever since. Given the Celtics current five-game losing streak and their 4-8 record, blowing the team up seems logical.

But is it really logical, or is the Celtics recent struggles clouding everyone's vision? When the Celtics were on a four-game winning streak, nobody was talking about blowing up the roster, but suddenly when things went bad, people started jumping ship. It's understandable; at this point in time, it doesn't seem like the Celtics can compete anymore. So, concerned Celtics fans rationalize, why not do something about it?

But before jumping to fix this problem, we must make sure there really is a problem first. Ask yourself this: has the Celtics championship window closed? If the answer to this question is yes, then by all means, ship the Big Three off faster than you can say "Thanks for the championship in 2008!"

Many people will quickly jump to the conclusion that their window is closed, and not without sufficient evidence either. After all, the Celtics aren't even in the playoff picture yet and have beat a grand total of zero good teams so far this year. Three of their four best players are also 34, 35, and 36 years old and clearly on the decline of their careers. And if they haven't been able to win it in three years, then why should this be the year?

I'm a little more skeptical though and not necessarily ready to write the Celtics off yet. Maybe I'm a glass-quarter full optimist, a dreamer, or just plain stupid, but I think that the Celtics championship window is still open enough to fit a championship ring in it.

The Celtics are still the only team with four potential All-Stars and three surefire Hall of Famers on their roster, regardless of age. They are also one of the few teams in the NBA that still have their core from a championship run remaining.

And personally, I believe that they have arguably the best potential every time they step on the court. Ray Allen is still capable of going off, evidenced by his 28 point, 6-8 from three performance against the Heat. Paul Pierce is finally starting to look like himself again after returning from a heel injury and put up 24 points the other night. The most affected by age of them all is Kevin Garnett, but even he can still produce a 20 point effort here and there and provide a spark on defense.

These three future Hall of Famers aren't even the best players on the team though. Rajon Rondo is ever-improving and the keys to the Celtics have been handed over to him. He is capable of recording a triple double every night. Not to mention that he is the perfect point guard to set his older teammates up with easy shots.

The bench is also one of the more underrated benches in the league. Brandon Bass can score and rebound in double digits every game, Mickael Pietrus and Kenyon Dooling can both come into the game and hit shots, Marquis Daniels and Avery Bradley can come in and play great defense, and Greg Stiemsma can flat out block shots.

On paper, all of that sounds great. With all of those talents fused together, it seems that the Celtics would be the team to beat; obviously, this is not the case. Which for me at least, indicates that the Celtics have yet to play to their full potential. Watching them has been frustrating because once one player would start to play well, another would enter a slump. Last game against the Thunder for instance, Paul Pierce had his best game so far and Ray Allen had his worst.

Once they can pull the pieces together and play consistent team basketball, and I'm confident they will be able to, then few teams will be able to beat them.

So when you think about it like that, their championship window isn't closed quite yet, but that might not even be the biggest flaw in the idea of trading away the Big Three. If we can all tell that Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are fading, then don't you think that other NBA Executives can see that too?

Who would want to trade for a player with only a couple years left? Most likely a team with championship aspirations, and a team like that does not want to jeopardize their chances of winning it all by trading away valuable pieces of their team. If trading away Garnett, Allen, and Pierce meant the Celtics would get three young All-Stars in return, then the choice would be a no-brainer, but this would not be the case.

The Celtics would most likely be able to get young players "with good upside" and draft picks. And if you think that these two things would be enough to put the Celtics in a better state than right now, then you're crazy. Drafting is not one of the Celtics strong suits, nor is developing young players.

Besides that, think about how the Celtics crumbled like pastries when Kendrick Perkins was traded away. Perkins played a much lesser role on the Celtics than any of the Big Three, yet the emotional impact of the loss hurt Rondo and as a result his play took a hit. The rest of the team was also never truly in sync after the trade. If the Big Three were traded, I can guarantee the team would not adjust well.

But, the trade deadline is still two months away so the Celtics certainly have time. If the team has not turned around by that point, then trading away the Big Three may be the only choice. But I hope that it doesn't come to that because trading them away would undoubtedly be a mistake given this team's potential, the lack of return on the trades, and the potential disastrous effects.