The Celtics and their fans have little reason to worry about the future when the present is exactly the future that we've been waiting for.  If you need to read that again, feel free, I understand.

Our friend Elrod Enchilada takes a detailed look past the KG era because, well... because there are teams like the Heat that teach us that winning now at all costs might just hurt you a lot in the long run.  Here's a snippet:

Technically, the Celtics might be able to get under the salary cap in 2011, when Paul Pierce comes off the books, but I suspect doing so might interfere with keeping the team contender during the Garnett era. Plus I think Paul might stick around for another year. I think it is wiser to plan for being significantly under the cap in 2012, and play to win all the marbles every year before then.

But there are steps Danny Ainge and the Celtics can take right now that will leave the team in a much better position to field a contender in the years following 2012, steps that will not undermine the competitive position of the team this year or for the four subsequent seasons. That is what I want to discuss and demonstrate in this article.