Celtics Draft Review: The Road Taken by Danny Ainge

The Road Taken...

It's simple, really. Danny Ainge had a choice to make:

1) Trade Paul Pierce and go for a full-out youth movement.

2) Keep Pierce and go for solid veteran help now.

In Let's Make a Deal, Danny opted for Door Number Two.

The best youthful assets remain in Al Jefferson, Rajon Rondo, and Gerald Green. Theo Ratliff and his contract are still here. Versatile Ryan Gomes and intrepid Tony Allen remain. 

The hustling Delonte West has gone...west, to Seattle to play with Kevin Durant. I hope the Sonics understand West's interplanetary sense of humor. We will miss you on and off the court, Delonte. Your shot names were truly funny. Your spirit, all-around play-making ability, and shooting prowess are now Seattle's.

Wally Szczerbiak and Jeff Green are also Seattle's.

The Road Not Taken...

Yi Jianlian, Joakim Noah, and Cory Brewer will learn the NBA game elsewhere. I have some regrets about that.

Trade Paul Pierce? The current adventures in trade-making should help you understand the road taken. Trading marquee players in this league can be an exercise in frustration, even when everyone wants to get something done.

After seeing the tailspin the Celtics went into sans Pierce, I'm quite sure Doc Rivers is happy, too. I'm really not surprised by the road taken.

Other top-20 players on the block are proving difficult to move. Jermaine O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Pau Gasol, and even Kevin Garnett are still with their teams after many rumored initiatives.

You have to give up something to get something. No one can agree on equal value. Players won't go to certain teams. Contracts are enormous. Contracts are too long. Contracts are too short.

Boston has been declared an undesirable destination by three of the players mentioned above. Trying to trade Pierce would create similar headaches, IMO.

Players want a say in where they go. Top players get that say. If you want to blame someone, blame Curt Flood.

So how did Ray Allen make this so easy? He wanted to get out of Seattle. He wanted to be a part of the Celtics' future. Danny gave Seattle a good price for him.

Enter: Ray Allen

Enter: Glen Davis (with Seattle's 35th pick, included in the deal)

"Soon-to-be" 32-year-old Ray Allen is coming off the highest point production of his career 26.4 per. He's also coming back to the East Coast, where he made his name at UConn.

As a UConn fan, I've been familiar with Ray's game and development since his freshman year. He has offensive skills that it would be unwise to underestimate.

Granted, he's also coming off of a 30-games-injury-listed season and double ankle surgery. Word is that Ray will be ready to fully compete come September.

Allen is a top-25 player. He has a silky-sweet jump shot, can pull up on a dime for a midrange semi-fadeaway, and finishes well at the rim. He is one of the league's best foul shooters (90 percent career). He is clutch. He can carry the load when teams double up on PP in the fourth quarter. He will do it better than Delonte West could ever hope to.

The team is immediately better.

From Steve Petraglia of Yahoo.sports....

"He is a game-finisher, that's probably the most important thing," Ainge said.

We replace one ankle-breaker (the bad way) with another (the good way). Ray's contract and game replaces a much slower and less reliable set of wheels in Wally Szczerbiak. 

The contract that no one thought could be traded (Wally's)...was. What's so bad about that?

And as they say in those TV commercials: "But wait—there's more."

The Garnett-to-Boston rumor isn't dead yet. An earlier deal involving Al Jefferson, the number five, and additional players didn't happen. Maybe Danny should remind Kevin that he owes him from the Wallyworld trade. We at least delivered healthy (albeit ornery) players his way.

I'm not saying that Minnesota knew more about Wally's weakened wheels than they were letting on, but Wally (with two z's, Seattle fans take note) started having health problems almost from the day he got to Boston.

From knees to ankles, we never saw the healthy Wally we were expecting.

I wish him good health and a sweet shot in Seattle. But remind Kevin, will you Danny? Guilt is good in negotiating.

Looking around at some "Seattle world" comments, there has been concern about Allen's selfishness, and that he might not have been motivated in the final years of his contract if he'd stayed in Seattle. 

I think both accusations are most likely off target. With Kevin Durant coming in and Rashard Lewis supposedly going out, there would have been enough touches for all.

Ray has already said that he'll have no problem playing without the ball in Boston. Last year, he averaged four-plus assists a game from the shooting guard spot. That's more than Richard Hamilton and Manu Ginobli, two other shooting guards who are deemed "team players" in target-rich environments.

The Celtics' remaining needs:

1) Defense

2) Another point guard (Gabe Pruitt, the 32nd pick, is too inexperienced to help this year.) 

3) "Size and toughness" (Doc Rivers quote)

Maybe Glen Davis is a part of the answer here. There's even talk that Ratliff actually wants to play and hopes to play well enough to earn another contract.

We will have to see.

The most likely trade scenarios would include Gerald Green and Theo's contract. There are a number of free agent options at PG that may be doable as well.

Stay tuned for further developments.