Hard to believe it, or even give it much though just yet, but we're in the offseason now. You just know that a champagne soaked Danny Ainge was right back to work in the wee hours of this morning. I picture him fielding congratulatory phone calls from other GM's and working the conversation into a discussion about potential trades. Gotta love that guy.
And how weird is it that the draft is just days away and I haven't discussed it once? I feel like I'm having just a little Chad Ford withdrawal. Just a little. One thing that I know is that the end of the draft is right in Danny's wheelhouse. I have no clue who he'll pick up in the draft, but I love the pick already.
Another item of business will be to extend Doc Rivers' contract. Nice to see that Bill Simmons finally posted his official mea culpa. (By the way, in case I haven't mentioned it before, I'm sorry for doubting you at times Doc. You shut us all up in the best way possible.)
By the way, a note to other GM's looking to copy the Celtics model of success. Don't even try. This is what you call lightning in a bottle. You won't find a Kevin Garnett on the market. You won't find a Ray Allen on the market. You don't have Paul Pierce on your team now. Even if you found some pieces that kinda-sorta look like these pieces, you won't get them all to buy into Ubuntu and defense the way this group has. Sorry.
Some additional questions that need to be answered this offseason (but not necessarily today):
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How bad is Paul's knee? Is there an operation in his future? When will he be back?
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How much will it take to keep Big Game James from leaving? Pat Riley thought he was too expensive to keep around. How'd that work out?
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What about House?
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How about Tony Allen? Should we match if he gets an offer? Might depend on the draft.
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What other free agents will want to take the veterans' minimum for a shot at a title next year?
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Will Sam and PJ Brown retire?
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I'm sure there's more, but that's a pretty long list already.