Wow. So many story lines here, and no time to write them all so I’ll just give some bullet points and let you guys run with it.
Jilted City
Umm, what’s so bad about Boston? Is the weather really that bad? Is the racist-city reputation still that strong? None of that matters to NFL stars that take less money to play for the Pats.
Doesn’t this team have one of the best young rosters in the league or are we fans really overvaluing our youth? Are Doc and Danny really thought of as Dumb and Dumber?
In short, what’s it going to take to make Boston a viable destination again?
Last KG Thoughts
All along, I maintained that giving up Jefferson and the #5 pick was too much. Taking on bad contracts like Troy Hudson would be even worse. But I started feeling like the deal was inevitable, so I started trying to talk myself into it just to be able to cope once it happened. The whole thing was just bittersweet. Losing Jefferson would have been terrible, but getting KG has always been my dream (just not one shared by him apparently). So I can finally put a nail in that coffin. The dream is officially dead.
But Now We Keep Jefferson
Best news of the day is that Jefferson will (by all indications) be a Boston Celtic for years to come. The short list of guys we could trade Big Al for might include Garnett, but the other names on that list aren’t going anywhere (I’m not counting Kobe).
Cheers to all you Boston fans that stood by him from the get go and said "If Jefferson is part of the deal, no dice." Danny didn’t agree with you, he was ready to pull the trigger, but at least the fans were in his corner.
Still, I have to wonder how this is affecting Jefferson. Since the day he was drafted, he’s watched Pierce live with trade rumors. Now for the last couple of years he’s seen his name involved in those same types of rumors. You think his agent is going to look for a trade kicker in that contract they’ll be negotiating this summer?
So Now What?
Garnett and Marion are both apparently out of the mix. What is plan B? (Actually, if the lottery was plan A, and KG was plan B, what are we on now… plan P?). Here are some options ahead of us:
Keep looking for an All Star that will actually come here. Rashard Lewis might be persuaded if he really is friends with Gerald Green. Can we get someone else besides him?
What about Jermaine O’Neal (talks with Lakers appear dead or dying)? I’d like to see what the price tag on him is. Pau Gasol would be expensive and might cost Jefferson so no thanks. That is unless Wallace really is as bad as his reputation suggests. If KG and Marion don’t want to play here, neither will Kobe (good!).
After that, you start running out of stars to trade for. So you have to wonder if the team will finally reach the end of those options and seriously consider dealing Pierce and building the team around Jefferson. Sad as it may sound, that might be the option that makes the most sense at this point.
Of course there is also the "do nothing" option that I’ve been against from day one. You could hold on to Pierce, draft at 5, and let the players get healthy to see what you’ve got this year. Still, that seems like a missed opportunity in this summer of upheaval.
So what’s next? Who can tell? It should be an interesting summer though. Stay tuned.
By the way, I took the time to organize an entire Blogger Mock Draft and I haven't even had time to post it with all this business going on. What a crazy week.