Ray of hope

Wait ... the Boston Celtics made a questionable trade of their high first-round draft pick? Imagine that! This is becoming an annual rite of spring.

Now, I’ve read all of the bad reviews of this trade from writers and fans alike and I’ve got to be honest, I find it hard to hate the trade. I’m not saying I love it. There are pretty obvious reasons, reasons that have been written and rewritten many times already, that it isn’t a no-brainer. Far from it. However, considering the trade has been made, and being depressed about this team is a little played out at this point, here are a bunch of reasons why I like the trade for Ray Allen. Maybe they will give C's fans a Ray of hope:

He is a dead-red shooter. The Pierce Era Celtics have always needed one, and never had one. Over the last eight seasons how many times did we see Paul Pierce drive and dish to a shooter who blew a wide open three? How many Antoine Walker's, Rodney Rogers's, or, I shudder to type it, Walter McCarty's did we see clanging uncontested looks? Now the C’s have a guy teams can’t leave open. And this guy isn’t exactly Steve Kerr; he’s still a legitimate scorer. Which brings me to my next point...

This guy isn’t exactly Steve Kerr; he’s still a legitimate scorer. Seriously though, it’s ridiculous to read all of the articles and blogs ripping Danny Ainge for picking up the apparently decrepit seven-time All-Star. Washed up? Allen averaged a career high in points for a team playing in a superior conference. Can’t share the ball? Rashard Lewis, a scoring forward, took 17 shots a game and averaged 22 points. It’s funny, 31 didn’t seem too old when we were Googling Kevin Garnett’s birthday. I just can’t understand why people are crying over getting a proven, All-Star caliber shooting guard coming off his most productive season. All Allen has done is quietly produce in every season of his career. Which brings me to my next point...

He comes sans semiautomatic weapon. Remember last year’s draft day trade? The Celtics traded away the pick that turned into the Rookie of the Year, and got in return a gun-toting flop in the wildly disappointing Sebastian Telfair. I’m willing to bet a fair amount that Allen won’t be facing any felony charges in the coming season. Above all else Allen is a class act, and a great role model for the young players on the team. Which brings me to my next point...

There are still young players on the team. Through all the Garnett, Shawn Marion, and Andrei Kirilenko trade talks, the name most brought up that was leaving Boston was Al Jefferson. I have to hand it to Ainge for staying firm on the fact that he wanted Jefferson to remain a Celtic. If the C’s draft another young player and trade away the few prospects they’ve developed, the learning process starts over and the team takes another step backward. Ainge was able to significantly upgrade the team while keeping the core of young talent, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo, and Jefferson, with the team, while only giving up the fifth pick and a role player in Delonte West. Which brings me to my next point...

The team made a significant upgrade while giving up only the fifth pick and D-West. The Celtics basically traded a role player (West), a hobbled, 30-something swing man with a max contract (Wally) and a weak fifth pick, for a 30-something with a max contract who was the sixth leading scorer in the entire NBA last year and Big Baby Davis. Boston solidified and consolidated their shooting guard position, and got a little bigger (well a little wider anyway) with Big Baby. Plus we have Big Baby. How sweet is that? Losing the fifth pick in the draft wasn’t as drastic as it seems, especially with Ainge making the decisions. Which brings me to my next point...

Danny Ainge hates picking high in the draft. The last two drafts the Celtics had the fifth and seventh picks, respectively, and both times Ainge traded the picks. I’m almost happy that we didn’t get the first pick, who knows what he would have done? I could just see Ainge surrounded by reporters in Boston trying to explain the unique brain patterns Yi Jianlian possesses and how happy he was to make him the first pick. Maybe he's so comfortable picking in the middle to late first round he traded for a guy to get us back to the level of mediocrity he was most comfortable with. I don't even want to think about that. Anyway, if we kept the fifth pick who do we take? Yi? Joakim Noah? The franchise-making players were off the board by the fifth pick. Meanwhile Pierce would have pulled a Kobe Bryant and forced the C’s into a trade that they didn’t want to make. Which brings me to my next point...

We’re keeping the captain! Paul Pierce actually gets to play with someone who is on the same level as he is. Imagine that! People are down on Allen’s age and some minor injuries, but it’s not like we traded Pierce for Allen straight up. We are asking the sixth-leading scorer in the NBA to be our second, maybe even third option on offense. How many other teams can make that claim? Pierce can say goodbye to the double and triple teams he’s seen for the last few years. Make no mistake about it Pierce will enjoy playing with Ray Allen. It’s clear that Pierce wants to win in Boston and it took some behind the scenes grumbling from the captain for the front office to recognize and make a move for a veteran star. Now, I don’t think even the most naïve fan believes that this trade makes them a championship contender, but it certainly makes them a playoff contender. Pierce just wants to taste the postseason again and, on paper at least, this could be the best team of his career. If they add another piece in the coming weeks or midseason, who knows? Which brings me to my next point...

They aren’t done dealing. At least I don’t think they are. Even after adding Allen’s hefty contract the Celtics still have moveable players and a valuable, expiring contract in Theo Ratliff. If the C’s can add a legitimate shot blocker and/or a veteran back up to play late in the game for Rajon Rondo, they could make some noise in the East. Which brings me to my last point...

The Celtics will play meaningful games again. If everyone stays healthy, and the East is as bad as it’s been, we could actually be watching a competitive basketball team again. Imagine that!