There's been tons of speculation as to what the Celtics will do in the upcoming draft, and plenty of opinions about what they should do. There are a lot of talented players in this draft, at various positions, so Danny has a lot of options, and there are a lot of possible directions he could choose, each of which has its pros and cons. From my point of view, the one thing that Danny absolutely needs to be concerned with starting yesterday is finding KG's heir.

I hope we all realize KG's importance to this team, because it goes way beyond the stats and is in fact the main factor in Boston's recent run of five consecutive successful seasons: this guy is a leader, the defensive genius, the team's anchor. No disrespect intended to Paul, Ray or Rajon, but KG—as I'm sure those other three will tell you—went so far as to change the culture of the Boston Celtics.

Is KG as great as Russell? An intriguing topic for debate, but each player is his own person. All I know for sure is that KG is the primary reason for the Celtics' return to glory in 2008, and that his knee injury is the primary reason the Cs didn't taste more glory in '09, '10 and '11. Rondo might be the straw that stirs the drink, but No. 5 IS the drink.

Which is why Danny needs to be looking high and low for his successor. I don't use the word "replacement," because as I said, each player is his own person, and no one can be replaced. You can, however, find people who are cut from a similar cloth, and if Boston is going to have more glory anytime soon, it will need a Russell-like, KG-like guy: someone who's a defensive mastermind (individually and within the team concept) and who has the utmost passion and intensity for the game, and for playing it the right way—not necessarily as demonstrative as KG, but just as mentally intense and focused.

I don't know this draft's players real well; perhaps some of you might be able to shed some light for me on whether anyone in this class has that KG-like mentality and drive. And you know, maybe KG, when he first came into the league, wasn't everything he is now as far as a defensive genius and team leader; I'm sure the raw material was there, but it was likely in need of fine-tuning, so if there's any KG-like player in this year's or next year's draft, I'm sure he too is in need of refinement—but as long as he has the raw material, I'll be happy. The question is, does that player exist?

All I know is that that's the type of player we're going to need going forward. We've been fortunate to have KG on our team for the last five seasons, and we'll be more fortunate still if he decides to stick around another season or two. I can't believe it's been five years already; I'm already missing KG, even though he isn't gone (yet). Like I've said before, I'm not much for cussing, but I'm not sure anything in basketball gets me as fired up as seeing KG verbally spew (and flex his arms and thump his chest) after he makes a great play. His level of desire and intensity is just off the charts, and even though no one can be that emotional all or even most of the time (not even KG, and especially not those of us who spend much of our time doing the decidedly unemotional task of sitting at a keyboard), he provides a great model of dedication that we should all aspire to.

So, Arnett Moultrie—are you like that? Fab Melo? Meyers Leonard? Any takers? I hope so. And if you are, I hope you become a Celtic.