The Window Closes

The Celtics window was only supposed to be three years.

When Danny Ainge sent Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the pick that would eventually become Jeff Green over to Seattle for Ray Allen, Celtics fans thought, "It's a start." Then, of course, we all remember that day in July. Danny Ainge had done something special. He gathered a stable of young players and found a team with a superstar that was looking to rebuild. The names are amusing, four years later. Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff ('s expiring contract). Gone. Ryan Gomes? Please. Al Jefferson? Later. We had a team. Three hall-of-famers with gas left in their respective tanks. Celtics fans put up with the 2006 season in the hopes of drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. Either one would have been fine back then. In fact, Oden was considered the real blue chipper because "you can't teach size." Well, instead of rebuilding with a core of young draft picks the Celtics sold the farm for two players to help the lethargic Paul Pierce who was slowly but surely wilting under the pressure of constant double-teams on a squad with nobody to dish it off to, nobody to help shoulder the burden of lottery-diving.

You'll recall the postseason that year was no cakewalk. In the very first round of the playoffs the youthful Atlanta Hawks gave the C's all they could handle, winning all of their home games and pushing the series to the brink. It was 2007 and even then analysts were questioning if the Celtics had enough athleticism to hang with the younger teams in the east like the Hawks or the Magic, or the Cavs. Another seven game instant classic series this time with Lebron and the Cavs proved that the Celtics had the resolve of a champion, but questions still lingered. Detroit was an afterthought, and the Lakers proved no match. The Celts were back on top. Paul Pierce held the trophy, KG gave a shout out to somebody named "Peanut", and there was a parade. Things were looking up, too. Rondo was emerging as a flat out superstar. Kendrick Perkins had evolved from a chunky, flat-footed wax statue into a defensive force that altered opposing offensive game plans. Celtics fans were not exactly expecting a dynasty, but they expected the Celts to continue to be competitive for the next two years and maybe even win another championship.

Unfortunately, in 2009, the Celtics had to make their postseason run without Garnett, and last year they made it all the way to game 6 in LA before Perkins went down. And of course, we all saw what happened last night. It is quite devastating when you realize the team you love is about to change. Its tough in any sport, but in basketball there is a dynamic that makes it harder to let go as a fan. There are five guys on the court, first of all, and they're just wearing shorts and a tank top. You can see everything they do. Every facial expression they make, every pick they set, every elbow they brandish, it's all right there. Baseball is similar in this regard, but there are 25 guys on a baseball team, almost twice as many players as there are on your average NBA team, and usually at least three of those players rarely see the court anyway. The city of Boston's attachment to the Celtics was strong again, and the Celtics mattered. I keep reminding myself that the window was only supposed to be three years, but what happened last night was probably the end of this team's relevance for the forseeable future.

This team has no chips anymore. They were already old and Ainge went out and made them older last off-season because he really didn't have any choice. NBA free agency has become a bizarre player-driven mechanism that has no place in Boston's future success. We didn't get Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett because they loved Boston so much, they came here because Ainge traded the entire roster including Lucky The Leprechaun (the original one with the dead tooth, not this new guy who actually kinda looks like a big leprechaun) to get them. Dwight Howard's not going to come here, and neither is Chris Paul. Rajon Rondo, the same Rajon Rondo who does not need to be bothered with on defense when he's further than nine feet away from the basket, is going to be this team's primary scoring option. In other words, it's going to be really, really rough.

Doc says he wants to come back, that he's a Celtic. Well that's nice, I guess. We love you, Doc, but it doesn't matter, this team is finished. The window is closed. It was a fine run, with four consecutive postseason appearances, 2 conference titles, and a shiny new banner in the rafters, but it is over. Lebron finally beat the Celtics. It took him four years, he destroyed the city that he grew up in and forever cemented himself as a man, who when the decision was left to him, opted for the path of least resistance. He knew he wasn't good enough to do it on a team that he was in charge of, he knew he wasn't Jordan. I've stopped caring about Lebron and "The Decision" and the fact that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are probably going to have similar theatrics when it's their turn to get showered with attention like a Bachelorette contestant. I just don't care anymore. Especially since I think Chicago is going to beat Miami handily in the eastern conference finals. Then the lockout is going to fall on the NBA's head like a ton of bricks, and the aging, future-less Celtics will be just another team that's not playing basketball.

Go Bulls.

-Chris Arcand / CArcand@BostonSportsRadio.net