Boston Celtics Need a Spark: Deal Ray Allen and Shake Things Up

Ray Allen is one of the best three-point shooters of all time, a uniquely talented guard whose experience helps give the Celtics another gear in tough situations.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis (or was it Uno Uno?) has been the C’s bruiser off the bench, capable of taking over the paint and preventing much bigger teams from owning the inside lanes.

Both are important in their own ways, contributing to a team whose core resembles that of the 2007/08 championship team. So with trade rumors abound, what should the Celtics do?

Trade them.

Both are replaceable. It would hurt to see a true professional like Ray Allen leave the team, but with almost $20 million in the balance and his contract about to expire, I don’t see any reason a younger—and cheaper—upstart couldn’t pull similar numbers to this year’s version of Ray (16 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg). It may actually open the door even further for a quickly-developing Rajon Rondo to step up and score more.

Tony Allen is another name that I think has just about run the course of his development, and could net a decent return. He’s cheap ($2.5 M in ’10) and at only 28 years old, he could net a yet-unproven younger player or a more effective bench solution.

Davis, besides being relatively cheap, has shown that he can occasionally provide game-changing performances off the bench with bursts of scoring and an aggressive posture on the court.

His upside doesn’t extend much further. As much harmony in the locker room as Ray Allen could provide, I’d wager Davis could dispel most of it. Since coming back midway through the season, Big Baby has looked slow and clumsy, particularly where they need him most, on the offensive side of ball (5.8 ppg, 4 rpg).

With the Celtics riding the cap this season, it’s important to dump some salary for the future. Allen leaving during free agency would achieve this objective, but wouldn’t net any talent in return. Trading him would achieve both of these goals. Even getting a marginal return would be better than nothing.

Rejuvenating this team with outside talent would far outweigh the loss of a slick-shooting veteran like Ray Allen. The Celtics are not getting any younger, and replacing Allen with someone younger or Davis with someone more athletic could put Boston back on the right track both in the short and long-term.

Rasheed Wallace seemed like a good idea on paper, but the C’s have not been seeing solid results from offseason signings like him and Sheldon Williams. Is this a cautionary tale for bringing in new blood? Yes. But that’s not to say a trade involving Ray Allen couldn’t infuse the Celtics with another spark, GM Danny Ainge just has to play his cards right.

Trade rumors have the Celtics considering deals with Chicago for Kirk Hinrich (possibly to include Tyrus Thomas as well) or with Charlotte for D.J. Augustin, who, although a guard, would provide more versatility off the bench than Davis.

Portland’s Rudy Fernandez has also been floating around as a potential trade target, but would require lots of other pieces to fall into place as well, something I don’t expect to happen, considering the Blazers’ somewhat unexpected success.

Although Danny Ainge has stated that a blockbuster will not be happening this season, it remains in his best interest to shake things up, especially after recently letting late leads slip to rivals Orlando and Los Angeles. Last night’s embarrassing loss to New Orleans further lends to the idea that something needs to be done.

Trading Allen reminds me of a similar Boston scenario in which the Sox traded a well-liked but injury-prone Nomar Garciaparra. Besides Allen being a better locker room presence and having a smaller nose, it would seem that dealing such an important piece of the Celtics puzzle could provide similar results.

I enjoy watching Ray Allen bury the clutch three just as much as the next guy, but with the emergence of Rondo, Boston’s new big three could use more young talent around them. Yes, I said it: Rondo has supplanted Ray Allen in Boston’s “Big Three” equation.

Boston is just 10-13 since Christmas, and although a part of me would be delighted to see Ray Allen in a C’s uniform until his retirement not-too-far down the road, I’d rather see another championship in Boston.