Ray Allen seems to be the hot topic of conversation these days around the Celtics. One thing we cannot forget is that the Celtics would likely be battling for the championship right now had KG been healthy. I am a firm believer that we hold onto Ray for one more season and roll the dice with the core intact.

For starters, Rondo and Perk will be one year better. I remember reading an article heading into last season that said Rondo didn’t pick up a ball all offseason. Hopefully this won’t be the case this year. We all know what a liability Rondo could be at times. Perkins we hope continues his beast ways next year. I loved watching him keep Howard off the block in the Magic series.

Those five players will be as good as any starting lineup in the league next year. I would like to move forward with the thought we can count on all five being healthy come next year’s playoffs. That leaves us with improving the bench.

It’s obvious the Celtics need a big man and small forward. I can’t think of a single decent big man that has come from somewhere as low as the 58th pick. The best option might be to look at free agents. Are Zaza Pachulia and Chris Wilcox out of the question? We don’t need an all star but somebody just serviceable.

Or if the Celts to go for a pick why not Jeff Adrien out of UConn? He’s hard nosed and can grab rebounds. He’s short like Big Baby but he’s wide and can grab rebounds at a much better clip.

Now to small forward. My preference would be to trade up for a player like Sam Young. He can hit the open deep shot and has athleticism to get to the hole. Plus, he has that old man look in the Greg Oden mold that I find funny.

I think a great player in free agency to fit in with the Celts would be Von Wafer. He’s another player that can hit the deep ball at a decent rate and has great speed and ups. I also like the factor that he sometimes has that crazy look to him that makes you think he might lose it at any second. Not just your typical NBA player yelling and screaming on the court but that look that if you actually saw this guy on the street he might try to bite your ear off.

The key to next season is to remember that we were 1 or 2 bench guys away from possibly winning the championship again. There are just a few holes Danny needs to plug which can be done without trading Ray.