In the past few years, you could argue that we were one big piece of the puzzle away from a championship. This year, not so much. In fact, some might argue that we're several pieces short of that goal. So would it even help if we were to add just one of the greats from our storied past? I don't know, but it sure wouldn't hurt and it would be a lot of fun.
I could have gone with Larry Bird of course, because... well, you know. Legend. In fact, there are a dozen or so guys that we could add from our history that would be better options than anyone some teams could trot out from their history. In fact, two guys that just left (Pierce and Garnett) wouldn't be bad choices either. But for me this really came down to Bird vs. Russell.
They played in different eras and I'm not going to worry about digging up the old "who was better" argument. That's not what this is about. This exercise is who would you add to this current roster?
Bird would still be a great choice in that he has a knack for making everyone around him better. But I figured I'd go with the guy that has more rings than everyone else. Russell would be Kevin Garnett the prequel and Rondo could be Bob Cousy the sequel. With any luck Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, and Jared Sullinger would develop in to the Hondo, Jo Jo White, and Tommy of this generation (or pick your Celtic legend comparison).
Bill would be the defensive anchor that simply outsmarted the other teams. And don't tell me that he couldn't keep up with the modern athletes. All he did was go toe to toe with Wilt Chamberlain and come out on top more often than anyone in the world.
He would also be a great leader and teacher to the younger guys. They would learn so much from him, both on and off the court.
With a nucleus in place of Rondo and Russell, Danny would certainly get creative and send some of his future assets off for immediate help. In fact, you could only imagine the interest there would be around the league to play with Bill Russell. LaMarcus Aldridge would be on the phone with his GM every day demanding a trade to Boston.
So get it done Danny. Bring back Bill Russell. (Wait, what? This is only a "what if" exercise? Quiet you. Don't wake me when I'm having a good dream.)