Lottery Winners
With everything Paul Pierce has been through in Boston, it was his unluckiest moment that's led to an NBA Finals appearanceRemember those ping pong balls?
Yeah, well, if all had went as planned back on Draft Lottery night last May, there would be no Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals this June.
The Boston Celtics would have taken either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, depending on what pick they had (Durant would've been an excellent consolation prize). But those ping pong balls didn't fall by way of losing percentage, and the Celtics were left with a most disappointing fifth overall pick.
Play out the scenario in which Boston gets Greg Oden. Then play out the scenario in which the Celtics get Kevin Durant. Either way, Ray Allen isn't walking through that door. Neither is Kevin Garnett.
Without that No. 5 pick, Allen most likely wouldn't have ended up in Boston this season (the Celtics shipped the No. 5 pick, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen and the 35th overall pick, which was used to take Glen Davis. And after initially rejecting a trade to Boston, the acquisition of Allen was the determining factor in Garnett's change of heart and his arrival on Causeway Street.
And it's funny, really, because on the night of the 2007 NBA Draft, those who were in favor of a deal for Allen were hard to find. Not many could understand why Danny Ainge chose to give up a very strong draft pick and an up-and-coming guard in West in order to acquire an aging jump shooter who just had surgery on both ankles.
To those I ask, how did Yi Jianlian and Corey Brewer pan out? Jianlian finished averaged 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 66 games. Brewer averaged 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 79 games.
Most Celtics fans wanted to keep that No. 5 pick and take one of those guys. Not as if they saw Allen's arrival as a door opener for a Garnett trade, but they should have.
Ainge had a plan. That plan hit a few bumps after both Atlanta and Cleveland took the Celtics to a pivotal Game 7 in the first two playoff series. But those road woes are in the past, with two wins in Detroit, and a 4-2 Eastern Conference Finals victory.
All of this is for Paul Pierce. The Allen trade. The Garnett trade. The Eddie House and James Posey acquisitions. All of this is for the longest-suffering, most deserving Celtics player in the history of the franchise.
Pierce expressed his anger for many losing seasons last year when he hinted a trade demand was on its way if things didn't change in Boston. He hinted at guys like Allen Iverson and Pau Gasol. He got Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Not the worst consolation prize for a team that had essentially "tanked" the 2006-07 season in order to get Oden or Durant.
So for the next few weeks, you'll see former Lakers and Celtics come out of the woodwork to give ESPN their stories of the past. Because for the first time since 1987, the Boston Celtics are headed back to the NBA Finals.
How's that for luck?
posted by Danny Picard @ 11:23 PM
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