If I find the Ray Allen for Jeff Green trade strange for the Sonics, it's almost unfathomable for the Celtics. For one thing, before the trade and with Theo Ratliff's contract set to drop off the books next year, they were looking at being a major player in free agency next year by doing nothing, with room to make a max offer if they could move the last year of Szczerbiak's deal. Instead, they now have a 30 year old small forward and a 32 year old shooting guard who are collectively soaking up $108M for the next 4 seasons, and $38.5M in 09-10 alone. In other words, bye bye any hope of cap space.
I love Ray Allen. I think he is a terrific basketball player. But with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and no point guard (Rajon Rando? Really?) the Celtics best case scenario is the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for a couple of seasons. And then it's driving off a cliff.
One wonders how Pierce feels about all this. The Celtics had to be tempted to move him and start completely over, and they seemed to have the young pieces to do it at one point. But where will Gerald Green's minutes come from playing behind Pierce and Allen? For Pierce, instead of getting out of Boston where he was no doubt tired of being the 'grown up' surrounded by a bunch of 20 year olds, he's suddenly got an older brother. Somehow, I doubt that was what Pierce was hoping for.