By Walter Dubowec

Has Danny Ainge through the acquisition of Kevin Garnett, forced the hand of Bryan Colangelo into making a counter move?

The answer is ‘Yes’. The question is ‘When’.

Bryan is a competitor who admitted to “not liking to lose’. However, he is not going to make an impulsive move, either.

                          

I still believe that Colangelo has another trade up his sleeve which will happen before training camp. I think the perceived shift of power in the Eastern Conference will make Bryan more determined than ever to acquire a player who will increase the team’s depth so that Raptors are sure to remain competitive and not be leap-frogged by the Celtics.

Will Bryan acquire a superstar? No. He will probably acquire another solid performer that fits the Raptors’ overall team concept. That will be more than enough to compete with the Celtics and the Nets and push the Pistons and Cavaliers.

A vastly improved Celtic team is good for the Raptors in that they have another formidable opponent which they must face four times a year. Once all is said and done - the Raptors' long term future remains much brighter than does that of the Boston Celtics.

View on the Garnett Trade

When he acquired Ray Allen, Danny Ainge backed himself into a corner. The tandem of Pierce and Allen was not good enough to take a 24 win team and transform them into a play-off team and Ainge knew it. If he was going to win, he had to do something big - which he did and then some.

In my opinion, the addition of the Big Unit likely makes the Celtics a 50 to 53 win team for the next couple of seasons. I don’t see them being any better than that. Based on what Ainge has done so far, it still won’t be enough to save his job long term.

The Celtics have a two to three year (max) window to win an NBA Championship or at least make a couple of visits to the Finals. Anything less than that will be viewed as a monumental failure.

I just can't see this team becoming the suddenly unstoppable Eastern Conference juggernaut that some are predicting, even with the spectacular individual talents of Garnett, Pierce and Allen.

Garnett, Allen and Pierce are three ‘over thirty’ superstars who will earn around $60 million per year. This leaves little money for the supporting cast. In the new salary cap driven NBA, the rings are more likely to won by the best overall team than by a team with a few superstars. The San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons are prime examples of how to win. The New Jersey Nets, on the other hand, have won little of significance with their big three of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson.

The Celtics need to be concerned about injuries. Last season, both Pierce and Allen missed games due to injury and it is a simple fact that the older one gets, the less resilient your body is to the wear and tear of an 82 game schedule. With a relatively weak bench, the starters will be expected to play major minutes.

The Celtics need to replace the four rotation players they lost. If Ainge can work a minor miracle or two, he may be able to bring a little depth back to a bench which has been stripped quite bare.

There will be no easy games for Boston. Everyone will get up to play the Celtics. The pressure to win will be off the charts.


Long Term Pain for Short Term Gain

The effects of this trade - both good and bad - will be felt in Boston for a number of years to come.

Regardless of what happens during the upcoming two or three year window where the Celtics must win, they are likely faced with three or four difficult years after that as their core ages.

Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics will prove me completely wrong if they win an NBA Championship in the next two seasons.

As much as I want to believe that this deal will turn the tide in Beantown – I have this nagging feeling that it won’t be enough and in all likelihood the best outcome the Celtics will achieve is a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.

You only make this trade if you can do better than that. On the other hand, I’m not sure Ainge had any other options after he pulled the trigger on the Ray Allen trade. He had no choice but to go for broke.

The Sam Mitchell Factor

An interesting fact is that Coach Sam Mitchell and the Raptors have never lost to Kevin Garnett in six games. Hopefully, Sam and the Raptors can keep the streak alive through next season! The streak is 6-0 now and it would be very sweet for Raptor fans to see that winning streak extended to a perfect 10-0 this season.