Good Luck...Sort Of

Last summer the Boston Celtics completed two trades that sent Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Wally Szczerbiak, Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West out of town in exchange for Ray Allen, Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett. We know this. However, one of the underrated aspects of those two deals, at least for me, was the fact that I was a fan of several of the players - Gomes, Green, Jefferson and West in particular - the Celtics shipped away. And if I remember correctly a lot of Celtics fans and bloggers felt the same way. It was not all that uncommon to come across posts like the one I wrote about Delonte West. First and foremost I wanted Boston to be relevant again and contend for a title. At the same time I wanted the ex-Celtics to do well. But how well? It turns out that I wanted them to enjoy individual success and not be a threat to the Celtics. Initially there were mixed results on the individual success front. Gomes struggled out of the gates while Green was buried on the bench and West played limited minutes. Only Big Al put up numbers from the start. Yet over time Gomes adjusted to his new team, the much-maligned Telfair made some noise and even West had one strong game against the Celtics on TNT. And then something drastic happened. Szczerbiak and West were moved to a contender. Now I was faced with an entirely new dilemma. It is one thing to root for Big Al when he is putting up double-doubles for one of the worst teams in the NBA. It is another thing altogether to see West show up as the starting point guard of one of the most dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference. It turns out I was not that conflicted. All I wanted was a Celtics victory. The fact that West scored 20 points was nice but unnecessary. And I am prepared to root against him with a vengeance if the two teams meet again. In the end it is not even remotely close to the time I openly rooted against Tom Brady because he started for the team opposite mine in the fantasy football playoffs. Now that was hard.