A message comes across the television screen, perspiration clouds your thoughts as you endeavor to obtain the pertinent information as it is distributed county wide. A local newsperson pleads for the citizens of their great town to limit their air conditioning use, the local circuits just can not withstand such bloated use. It has to be hotter this year than last. What’s the record high for this time of year anyways? Will this oppressive, overwhelming, smoldering heat ever subside. These are the dog days of summer. Around the NBA, much like your living room, activity is kept to a minimum, it’s simply not the right time. There is the summer league, should you need your basketball fix, but in all likelihood that will satiate you as much as a can of Coke and a cigarette would Lindsay Lohan at the 40/40 Club. The bulk of the major moves have been made, and teams are in a holding pattern, no more perfect a time to analyze the personnel changes thus far.

*Quick note: There have been many player moves so far, here we’ll focus on the major ones that will alter an individual franchise’s winning potential.

Dwight Howard is taking his talents down to South Padre Island. With the addition of the most unlikable player in the NBA, the Rockets are an immediate impact team in the Western Conference. For once, at long last, Dwight Howard has made the correct decision. Let’s all stand up and applaud him, that is after all what he’s expecting and no player in the league is more aware of himself and how he is viewed than Dwight Howard. Yep, Dwight’s gonna take the old SS Jackass out and set sail for southern shores, where he’ll probably play a few seasons before requesting a trade. Now that that little bit of vitriol has been exercised from the old system, let’s get down to brass tacks, the Rockets are going to be very good. One thing must be as clear as the lane when Mike D’Antoni’s Suns were on defense, Dwight will be deferring to James Harden on offense. Dwight Howard has been in the NBA for nine seasons now and contrary to what you may have heard, he has absolutely zero offensive game. He can dunk… That’s it. “Oh but he has a baby hook,” you may be saying, guess what? So do I. So does every single player in the NBA. Why? Other than a dunk or a lay up it’s the easiest shot you could possibly ever take on the court of basketball. Harden has the ability to create his own shot, he can drive the lane and he is fully capable of bringing the ball up court. Houston’s offense will run through him, Dwight will get his fair share of post up opportunities, but don’t be surprised if the bulk of his points come off of rebounds. Oh yeah, and that Parsons guys pretty good too, don’t leave him open.

In the battle of the boroughs a winner can already be declared. With the addition of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Brooklyn Nets are hands down the best team in New York City. The Nets will be trotting out a starting five that few teams will be prepared to deal with, they have size, defense and scoring ability in droves. Couple that with the jewel in the crown of Tsar Prokhorov, Andrei Kirilenko as a rock solid sixth man, and the Russian has acquired the services of another Russian who can make your problems disappear. Expect the Nets to win the division and to be major players in the Eastern Conference come Playoff time. Of course much of the Nets success hinges upon the aging legs of Pierce and Garnett, but should their minutes be managed there will be no reason to worry, as being the star of the show should no longer be a requirement. The one lingering threat to Brooklyn is no opponent on the court but rather a question mark that sits on their bench. Jason Kidd has never coached a game in the NBA. Will he step back, be a figurehead while Lawrence Frank carries the bulk of the game planning load, barring an unexpected explosion of basketball brilliance by Brooklyn’s biggest bet, it may be their only hope of winning it all.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are one year older, should they continue to progress as expected, the Warriors have quite the one-two punch at guard. David Lee should be coming back healthy to start the season, and Andrew Bogut is a pretty solid, legit seven foot NBA center. Hey, how about we throw Andre Iguodala in there just for good measure? A high octane team, just became higher octane. In Iguodala, the Warriors have added a player that can do just about everything on the court, he can score, he can rebound and most importantly he can defend the opposing team’s best swingman. Iguodala is not a player to be relied upon to score enough to keep you in a game, but in Golden State, he won’t have to. With another year of experience and the addition of a veteran player, the Warriors are poised to make a deep Playoff run.

The Dallas Mavericks days of competing for an NBA championship are over, to be honest they were over the second they let Tyson Chandler leave town. However, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn’t do rebuild, even though it’s probably time to. Dirk Nowitzki is a marvelous player and an all time great, but methinks he perhaps may be upon the last of his legs. At this stage of his career is adding “b” level stars to Dirk’s supporting cast the prudent thing to do? No, but here comes Monta Ellis. Ellis is a high level scorer in the NBA, but that’s it. He will give you absolutely nothing else. Monta will win you that odd game against the Suns or the Hawks where 30 points from him is needed, but he’s not a guy that’s going to take you back to the promised land. In signing Ellis the Mavericks are back to being just good/bad enough to barely make or miss the Playoffs, at least they managed to sign him to a very team friendly deal.

Ever since the NBA’s best player headed South the Cavaliers have been regrouping. They’ve managed to develop a player who is looking more and more like a franchise maker and premiere player in Kyrie Irving. They’ve got decent role players but aren’t at the point of truly turning the franchise around. Free agents are hard to come by, unfortunately for them, Cleveland just isn’t that desirable of a destination. This is why taking a risk and signing Andrew Bynum is a great idea. Before being traded to Philadelphia, where he didn’t play a single game it must be noted, Bynum was widely considered the second best center in the NBA, first by some. Due to his vast injury concerns, Bynum was forced to sign a short term deal for less money than he would have liked, but the onus is on him to perform and prove that he is once again a max contract player, and as we all know that is what is most important to Andrew Bynum.

Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith, that’s a pretty formidable front line you’ve got their Detroit, now how about working on that economy of yours. Apparently Joe Dumars has grown weary of watching the Playoffs from home and has chosen to watch the first round in person and then watch the remaining rounds from the comfort of his home. The mist has passed and it has become clear that the Pistons that where built for their 2004 NBA championship run were indeed a fluke as Dumars somehow remains a general manage in the National Basketball Association. Is Josh Smith a bad player, not at all, is he supremely overrated, bingo! Let’s just hope for Detroit’s sake that Josh doesn’t fall in love with the three point line the way he did in Atlanta, the motor city has suffered enough.

That one year window is closing… oh and it’s shut. Sorry New York, the Knicks are going to take a step back this season. They are without a doubt still a Playoff team, but much like the recently transpired season, despite the delusions of Spike Lee, the Knicks are by no means a championship contender. Ron “Metta Worldpeace” Artest is a terrific acquisition by the Knicks, for a team that likes to think they have a gritty edge, he will finally give them a gritty edge. He won’t give you much on the offensive end any more, but c’mon, he’s here for his “D” and if he isn’t, well then Mike Woodson isn’t the coach we all thought he was. As good a move as Artest is, that’s how bad of a move the Andrea Bargnani trade is. We all know he’s played his entire career North of the border, but I’m pretty sure Canadian basketball is televised in the United States, someone in the Knick’s organization should have watched him play basketball before trading for him.

BOOM! LIGHTNING ROUND! RAPID FIRE ANALYSIS ENGAGED! READ THESE AS FAST AS YOU CAN BECAUSE THAT’S HOW IT IS BEING WRITTEN!!!!!

The Charlotte Bobcats signed power forward Al Jefferson, proving that Al Jefferson is okay with potentially never winning another basketball game agin and that for the head of basketball operations, Michael Jordan was one hell of a basketball player. At least they’ll be the hornets again, that should create some buzz (Get it? Get it? Get it?).

The Atlanta Hawks have signed power forward Paul Millsap, a player that averages three points and one rebound per game less than Josh smith who he is replacing. This means that the Hawks should be almost exactly as good as they were this past season, seriously Atlanta, blow it up already, it ain’t gonna happen, this is a signing made for signing’s sake, it makes no basketball sense.

The New Orleans Pelicans… Come on the Pelicans? You’re seriously going to put a basketball team on an NBA court called the Pelicans? Fine, whatever, the Pelicans have traded for Jrue Holiday and they’ve signed Tyreke Evans, meaning they are really interested in having a very crowded backcourt with a logjam at the guard position. Just think of all the guards in New Orleans as small fish, smelts perhaps, gently nestled into the beak of the MIGHTY PELICAN!

The Los Angeles Clippers wanted to trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, in order to pair them with newly acquired, familiar coach Glen “Doc “Turncoat”” Rivers. They signed JJ Redick. The former Blue Devil may not be the player(s) that Garnett or Pierce is, but he’s no chopped liver either, I guess since it’s LA it would be pâté not chopped liver, then again it’s the Clippers not the Lakers, let’s stick with chopped liver. Redick will be solid for the Clippers, but a championship contender they are not. Hey Blake and Deandre, dunks are awesome, but if you’d like a deep playoff run how about some defense and I don’t know some low post scoring?

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed OJ Mayo and the entire Mayo family is ecstatic, the citizen’s of Milwaukee on the other hand are blissfully unaware of the existence of their professional basketball team. It’s not their fault, even when the Bucks make the Playoffs they are the league’s second most irrelevant team, they have Charlotte to thank for that. Watch out though Bucks, once those Hornets don the teal jerseys a resurgence in popularity is-a-coming. If you’re Milwaukee, what can you do? Bucks gonna buck, amiright? Even Brandon Jennings desperately wants to leave town and there are almost no rumors of any team going after him. I’m pretty sure I heard a rumor the other day that Jennings was angling for a trade to Denver, at a Home Depot, anything to get out of Wisconsin.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed shooting guard Kevin Martin, he’s OK, decent player, but this one’s more about…

 

 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have officially given James Harden away for nothing! It was evident in the Playoffs just how much the Thunder missed the offensive potency that Harden provides, but at least Martin was able to chip in a few double digit scoring games here and there. That’s all out the window now. Of course the Thunder missed Westbrook dearly, and he will be back, but as presently constituted they are no longer the favorite to come out of the West. This is not how championship rosters are formed, by allowing integral players (Harden not Martin) to depart all because of fear of paying a luxury tax. What happens when they can’t compete and Russell Westbrook wants out, you can’t tell me he doesn’t have the personality for it, Durant won’t want to stick around. Sure it’s a worse case scenario, but you heard it here first! Then, maybe then, the Sonics can finally head back to Seattle.

There’s definitely more to come this offseason and at least one more block-splintering trade to appear. Much like a blossoming teenager at their first sleepaway camp, the teams of the NBA are still figuring themselves out. This will be a summer of new developments for them and of growth into their new rosters, the next season is just around the corner, but for now let’s all just enjoy the figuring out period.

 

 

You’ve probably heard by now that on the night of the draft the Celtics traded Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets for bad contracts and draft picks, essentially slamming shut the door on the Celtics as a competitive franchise for the time being. There isn’t much merit in discussing the trade ad nauseum because the teams approached one another from diametrically opposed perspectives, the Nets want to win games, the Celtics don’t. In a way both teams got what they wanted, the Nets formed a killer starting five, the Celtics pushed the button on the rebuild bomb and received three first round draft picks (more than any other team was offering). The Nets will be a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference and should the team mesh, a championship contender. Their bench is stripped down to the barest of bones, they’ll need a few veterans minimum contracts to round out the roster and offer any help for the starting unit. In Pierce the Nets received a proven scorer who does not shy away from high pressure situations, he is a year older, but Pierce has rarely missed significant time throughout his career. In Garnett the Nets gained a defensive stalwart who will get his fare share of open jumpers with Brook Lopez playing closer to the basket. Lopez is the Net with the most to gain from the trade, he needs to shadow KG’s every move and mannerism, learn from his competitiveness and replicate it as best he can. Every young player in the league should have a Garnett to play with, to realize just what it takes to be successful in the NBA for a very long time.

The Celtics took back Kris Kardashian (deal with it Humphries, you’re riding this one out as long you plan on setting foot on NBA courts worldwide), who is in reality simply an expiring contract needed to make the salaries match tradewise. Gerald “Worst Contract in the NBA” Wallace will also be shippin’ up to Boston, this piece of the trade is most perplexing. It’s likely the only way the Celtics were going to get three first round picks was if they were willing to take on Wallace’s contract, but that doesn’t make his inclusion any better. Brooks and Bogans are also headed North on I-95, but again, this was all about the picks for Boston. In all likelihood, Humphries, Wallace and Bogans are all available to any team in the NBA for a slightly used Spaulding basketball, new or “like new” gym socks, or even a high five and a head nod. The Celtics are no longer in the winning games business and would prefer to pay as little as possible to do so.

For the Celtics the future is a mystery but the path is defined, they’ll do their best to lose games and hope for a great pick next season, always a risky premise for Boston (see Duncan, Oden/Durant). For now the Celtics will be irrelevant, the bandwagon is emptying out faster than a Milwaukee Bucks game at the end of the third quarter when down by 20 (trust me they’ll be down by 20), no better time to look back at the events that took place which lead to their reemergence as one of the premiere franchises in sports. It all started on July 31st of 2007.

After months of conjecture it finally happened, Kevin Garnett agreed to a contract extension and the deal was in place. KG was sent to a Celtics team featuring stars Paul Pierce and the recently acquired Ray Allen, essentially forming the new “Big 3” the former being Bird, Mchale and Parish. This union ended a miserable period for Celtics fans, ushering in a new era and never looking back to the failures of the previous season. In the 2006-07 season the Celtics won a mere 24 games, a pathetic number for a franchise accustomed to winning, but the numbers do not tell the entire tale. Off in the distance  loomed two draftable figures that were unanimously believed to be franchise builders, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. We know now that only one of them would, to this point, experience success in the NBA, but at the time it was believed that a first or second pick was striking oil. The Celtics received the fifth pick in the draft lottery. This is when GM Danny Ainge got creative, first dealing the fifth pick, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak for Ray Allen on draft night, and later sending a package centered around Al Jefferson for Kevin Garnett. Paul Pierce was ready and waiting and the trio, paired with an emerging Rajon Rondo and a solid Kendrick Perkins created the best starting five in the NBA.

Then coach, Doc Rivers, finally had a team he could run with, but many questions remained, could the egos of three NBA stars possibly coexist on one team? Doc’s first move, get the team out of the country and as far away from media pressure as he could.

The Celtics trained for their upcoming season in Rome, a stroke of genius. Strangers in a strange land the Celtics were forced to establish relationships and rely upon one another, truly creating the team dynamic. The bond developed overseas held as strong as Karl Malone’s camel clutch. The Celtics were a wrecking crew, no team was safe in their path. In an age when no team could win without a superstar it was refreshing to see a team of aging stars put egos aside and commit to a team attitude, they were a throwback to the NBA of old. Their opponents wore their frustration on their faces, when it wasn’t Pierce it was Garnett and Allen, when it wasn’t Garnett it was Pierce and Allen, when it wasn’t Allen it was Pierce and Garnett, and when it wasn’t Pierce, Garnett or Allen, who’s this Rondo kid? Danny Ainge had built a flawless lineup and anything other than a championship would have been deemed a failure. They finished the regular season 66-16, an astounding record for a team built less than a calendar year prior to the beginning of the Playoffs. They opened with a seven game series against the Hawks, followed by an epic seven game series with the Cavs, culminating in one of the best battles in Playoff history put on by Pierce and Lebron. Next, down went the Pistons in six games, placing the Celtics in the NBA Finals against their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. The stars had aligned and it was time for the NBA’s most storied franchises to do battle one more time. The Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games, featuring a 24 point comeback in game four and a 39 point smashing in game seven to win the Celtic’s record 17th championship.

The Cetlics “big 3” formation set the blueprint for the NBA which still persists today. The Lakers and Heat’s championships are in many ways a reaction to what Boston had done, adapt or die. Had it not been for the Celtics it is likely the Lakers never trade for Gasol, and it is definitely for sure that James, Wade and Bosh never have that slumber party were they talk about how cool it would be to play together. After all, the Celtics did made it look pretty cool.

It’s unfortunate that the Celtics were only able to win one championship during the Pierce-Garnett-Allen era, the numbers do not do them justice. The season after the Celtics won their championship, believe it or not, they were actually a better team. They started the season 27-2, let that soak in, that’s a ridiculous record after more than a third of a season, but it was one night in Utah that ended it all. Garnett suffered a knee injury that would see him miss 25 games and the entire post season. Without Garnett the Celtics still managed to win 62 games and take an Orlando Magic team, that would later appear in the Finals, to seven games. It is easy to assume that if healthy, the Celtics would have been back in the Finals in 2009. In 2010 the Celtics won 50 games and marched right back to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Lakers in seven games. The Lakers finally got their rematch, but a key injury to Kendrick Perkins left him out of the pivotal seventh game in Los Angeles. Despite his absence the Celtics still lead the Lakers with little time to go. Alas it was the Lakers night, the 20 free throw advantage they had in the fourth quarter didn’t hurt either, but sometimes (every time) that’s just how things go in LA in the Finals. In 2011 the Celtics won 56 games but were eliminated from the Playoffs by the Heat when the NBA’s dirtiest player, Dwyane Wade, purposely took down Rajon Rondo and dislocated his elbow. In 2012 the Celtics won 39 games in a lockout shortened season but found themselves matched up again against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Suspect officiating in the first game of the series saw the Celtics lose a game that was clearly officiated in Miami’s favor (another common occurrence in the Playoffs). In the end the Heat won in seven games, but Celtics fans were left feeling as though the series had been mishandled.

I say all this to tell you that had it not been for the Celtics string of bad luck, they likely would have won another one or two championships. The toughest of outs in any Playoff series and a perennial contender, this Celtics team was one for the ages. A “grit and balls” team in an age of teams and stars that many considered soft. The Celtics quickly became one of the most hated teams around the NBA, mostly due to Garnett’s bullying techniques, but is there any greater mark of a terrific team than unanimous hatred? Whether you continue to hate the Celtics or not matters little, but know that in hating the Celtics you hated a team that turned the clock back and fought fights they had no business partaking in, let alone winning. They just finished year five of what was believed to be a three year window, the Celtics were a team that any fan base would have been proud to call their own. They’ve traded away the man that turned the franchise around in Garnett, and also the man who will retire a true Celtics legend in Pierce, no small task, look at the retired numbers. One player is all that remains with the Celtics from their 2007-2008 championship team.

Rondo has said that he is on board with a rebuild and will not seek to be traded, he will also sit out some portion of the season as he rehabs his torn ACL ( a rehab that may take longer than necessary, there’s ping pong balls on the line here folks). Hopefully Rondo is not the next piece to go, he has a great contract and at times appears to be a marquis player. If Rondo is ever able to perform at his highest level night in and night out, there is no player better to bridge the gap between the Celtics eras of past and future.

As previously stated the future for the Celtics is indeed a mystery, but the history of the team is as clear as day. Despite their lone championship they are a team that defined an era and whose characteristics will seemingly not be soon seen again. Look forward to seeing what Pierce and KG bring to Brooklyn, there will be more than one game when you see their age show, but there will also be those nights when they look like they’re 25 again. The only negative in the Cetlics “new big 3” era is that we didn’t get enough of it, how could you not root for the aging pugilist stepping in for just one more round. For the former Celtics the next game will always be the last game.