Biggest Celtics “what if”

[pokeKingCurtis]

I honestly don't think the C's with Irving and Hayward ends up much different as neither of those guys is a carry the franchise type player and they both probably still aren't on the team.

Bias is always #1 and I think not getting Duncan with the best odds will always be #2.

There are a couple around the summer of 2007 and the 07/08 season, that I think could have altered Boston's history a lot.  First, what if the ping pong balls don't land on 5 and instead land on 1 or 2?  Do they still acquire Allen or Garnett, or just build around Durant or Oden (with Pierce, Rondo, etc.)?  Second, let's say the ping pong balls still land on 5 and the Allen trade is still made, but what if they don't acquire Garnett and instead go into the season with Big Al, Allen, and Pierce and instead use some of those assets to acquire Pau during the season, likely keeping Al in the process.  How many titles do the C's win with Allen, Pierce, Jefferson, and Gasol (obviously the Lakers don't land Pau in that scenario)?

When you're a fan of a team the "what ifs" go in the direction of positivity and success.

What if Bias doesn't die....Celtic greatness.
What if Buckner fields the ball cleanly ....Red Sox curse ends
What if Orr never hurts his knee....Bruins greatness
What if David Tyree can't hold onto that catch ...perfect season.

Your what ifs in the reverse direction, and a ton of other stuff you write, really make me wonder where the fan in you is. Normal fans don't think what if x happened and we lost that title. It's just strange

Hah this made me think of the Community episode where they had multiple timelines.

Grant would totally be the one to hand out evil goatees made of felt

[dannyboy35]

   Fun topic. My first what if has always been the Len Bias one snd st the sane time. I’ll Walton healthy and able to perform at
‘86 level. Just stringing more titles together.
  A smaller one would be if we held on to Joe Johnson. I don’t think too much about Billups as much because it took him some time to be one that great player.

[terra haute]

I put Bias a bit down the list as we will never know, What if Bird doesnt hurt his  back and McHale break his foot? These guys were in their prime and granted played more college but they were in what their 7th and 8th year? Lewis we knew what he had done in the league but yeah, those dont happen and Celtics would have been dominant to at least early 90s with all 4 of those guys.

[Big333223]

As others have said, Bias is easily #1. I think the Celtics win again in '87 with Bias on the team. And then, what kind of player does Bias become? Do they squeeze out a 5th championship before Bird hangs it up? Do the 90's not look so terrible with Bias around?

Giannis is a pretty big one, too. It's a weird one because most of the league can "What if we drafted Giannis..." but imagine for a moment a lineup of Smart/Brown/Tatum/Giannis/Horford. That's wild.

[Birdman]

If we gotten Giannis, we won’t have had a chance of getting Tatum & Brown

[Roy H.]

If we gotten Giannis, we won’t have had a chance of getting Tatum & Brown

Wasn't the Nets trade made before Giannis was drafted, or at least in his rookie year? 

[Celtics2021]

If we gotten Giannis, we won’t have had a chance of getting Tatum & Brown

Wasn't the Nets trade made before Giannis was drafted, or at least in his rookie year?

It was made the night Giannis was drafted.  Hard to believe that drafting Giannis instead of Olynyk would have had any impact on whether the Nets trade would have been made.  There’s some argument that if we had Giannis in 2016-2017, we might have traded the pick that became Tatum for more immediate help to pair with IT, Horford, and All-Star Giannis.  But certainly we’d have had a chance for either or both, since our record and zero impact on the position of those draft picks.

[footey]

1. What if Red didn't trade for Bill Russell?
2. Everything else. But nothing comes close to 1.