This isn't an overreaction post. I'm not going to sit here and tell you KG, Pierce and Ray are done. All three are past their prime (they were past their prime in 08), but all of them have a some basketball left. We will win some games this year and we will lose some games. That's not my point. My point is... from a fan perspective this is the most boring type of team to have. Let me explain.
I came to terms with us no longer being contenders sometime last year when I realized Shaq was never coming back. A lot of you might still be grasping at some irrational hope, but for all intents and purposes, this team is no longer relevant. Our depth is a joke. Spin it how you want... Pietrus, Daniels, JO, Wilcox, Bradley... that's garbage. I randomly look at a borderline contender like Dallas, take a look at their bench with Jason Terry, Vince Carter, Lamar Odom... and realize any one of those guys would probably instantly be 6th man on this pathetic Celtic bench. The fact that Stiemsma made this roster isn't a sign of his talent... it's a sign of how depleted our laughable bench has become.
So there's that. This team in our wildest dreams is a 3rd seed... but baring some miracle, they will be eliminated early in the playoffs. I've seen what they are capable of. We haven't improved. There are no new tricks up this team's sleeves... and frankly, I'm bored to death by them. I religiously watch the Celtics in previous years, but I've barely paid attention the last few games. I keep it on as background noise while I surf the net. This a tired act taking it's final bow.
Part of the problem is that we are sitting ducks. It's unlikely we can get anything of value for KG and Ray's expiring contracts. Danny's best option is probably to just see this season through, see what the options are in the offseason. I can't speak to our chances of actually landing a top tier free agent, but I know that there will be options. And if we DO re-sign Ray/KG, it will likely be to smaller contracts so we can afford to sign some legitimate help (a Chris Kaman or something). It's pretty clear that this team WILL look different next year, though. So... we sit here and wait.
Here's the other thing. There are really only two types of teams that are interesting to follow. #1 - a contender/a great team (2008) or... #2 - a young team with hope (2007). In 2007, I was interested, because we had young guys like Big Al. It was fun to watch his growth. It was fun to see him averaging 16 and 11 and wondering what the future would hold. Rondo was an intriguing young guy. Gerald Green even seemed to be interesting to watch. You tune in, because you want to see if this is the day they "get it". Last year even though I had come to terms with us no longer being a contender, it was still interesting to see what Jeff Green might do. I tuned in, because I wanted to see if he'd "get it" and start averaging 20 points.
This year... we got nothing. Stiesma doesn't count (he'll be out of the league in a couple years). Avery Bradley is garbage. Rondo is fun to watch, but he's reached his peak... I use to watch him to see if he'd transform into a superstar, but he's reached his ceiling as an allstar and I've come to terms with it. The rest of the team has nothing new to show me. I'm bored. Very bored. There are no "must-watch" possessions. I barely even care enough to check the box scores. I don't really have a reason to watch until the playoffs and I know the playoffs will be short.
I'll give you a random example... despite the fact it would make our team less of a contender, if the Celtics went out and traded Rondo for Stephen Curry + cap filler, at the very least I'd be tuning in to watch what Curry (and his godlike shooting potential) could do in Boston. That's a storyline. This team is devoid of storylines right now.
I'd be on board with "blowing it up", but I know that our best move is just to wait until the offseason. So... I'll half-heartedly follow this sitting duck team until much-needed change finally comes this summer. This is the worst type of team to follow.