Celtics Journal: With the season at the halfway point, it’s time to roll out the “What If” scenarios

By Gethin Coolbaugh

After the Celtics do battle with the New Orleans Hornets tonight, the first half of the season will officially come to a close.

At 32-17, the Celtics are the third-seed in the Eastern Conference and in solid position to make a playoff run.

Yet if you’ve been listening to the Boston media’s thoughts on the Celtics, you’d think they were having less success than the 4-46 New Jersey Nets.

As the first half of the season comes to a close on Wednesday night, it’s only fair that the media starts to issue in the crazy what-if scenarios regarding trade rumors and other nonsense.

As a journalist, it seems the only logical thing I can do is start creating absurd scenarios about how the Celtics are on the verge of trading Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins for Nate Robinson and the rights to half of Madison Square Garden.

Well, that might be a tad bit far-fetched.

Nonetheless, I thought it might be fun to list out several scenarios over the past three years, as well as this year, in regards to the Celtics success going forward.

So, what if?…

What if the Celtics had landed the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft? Yikes. That essentially sums it up. Had the Celtics landed that ominous ping pong ball that would have given them them top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the scenery would be quite different at TD Garden. For starters, you could undoubtedly subtract that 17th championship banner. If Boston had the first pick, then we would have selected the greatest player in the history of the league…Greg Oden. Just writing that makes me shutter.

At the time, the first pick was what every Celtics fan wanted more than anything. After one of the worst seasons in the history of this proud franchise, Boston fans wanted nothing more than to see the Green restored to their rightful place among the league’s elite franchises. At the time, it seemed like that first pick was the final solution.

And what a train wreck that would have been.

Had Oden joined that young Celtics squad, we’d be stuck in the same rut that we were in 2006, but with a different front office. Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers would be looking for new jobs, and any veteran free-agents considering Boston would have scoffed at any offers to play for the laughing-stock Celtics.

In three seasons in the league, Oden has been plagued with injuries and was arguably the worst top-pick of the past decade. Oden missed the entire 2007-08 after undergoing knee surgery before the season began. Making matters worse, Oden suffered from a fractured left patella earlier this season, bringing his season to a close. In 21 games this season, Oden averaged just 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds.

Last season, Oden averaged 8.9 points per game and seven rebound per game in 61 games.

To put that in perspective, former Celtics center Vitaly Potapenko, regarded as a talentless center at best, averaged 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in three years in Boston.

In three years in Portland, Oden has averaged 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds. Yikes, yikes, yikes.

What if Kevin Garnett had been traded to the Lakers instead of the Celtics? The Black Mamba meets the Big Ticket? Believe it or not, it almost happened. Reports early in late June of 2007 indicated that the Lakers and three other teams (Minnesota, Indiana, Boston) were involved with talks that would have sent Garnett to Hollywood. The Celtics would have sent several young players to the Timberwolves in exchange for Pacers’ all-star forward Jermaine O’Neal. At the time, it would have been a nice move for the C’s. In the long run, however, it wouldn’t have resulted in a championship.

Still, Garnett in L.A.? That’s the equivalent of the Yankees signing Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia last off-season. Kobe and Garnett on the same team would have been the reincarnation of the dominant Shaq/Kobe teams of earlier last decade.

Had the Lakers completed a sing-and-trade deal for K.G., then you can certainly count out the Celtics title in 2008. In fact, Los Angeles may very well have just as many championships as the Celtics at this point. They certainly would have won in 2008. It is a real possibility that the Lakers could have rattled off three-consecutive championships with Garnett, Bryant, Odom and company.

Jermaine O’Neal is a very good player, and has been for years. Adding him to the Celtics roster in 2007 would have made them a playoff team for the foreseeable future, but nothing more.

What if Paul Pierce had demanded a trade in the off-season of 2007? Paul Pierce is one of the greatest sports figures in the history of Boston. In a time when it’s nearly impossible to keep superstars in one place for more than two or three years, Pierce has called Boston for his entire career since 1998.

But there comes a time for every athlete when enough is enough. Pierce had gone his whole career without winning a championship ring, and he hadn’t advanced further than the Eastern Conference finals.

In fairness to him, he was right to complain. Pierce had stayed with the Celtics through thick and thin. From the years of the Dynamic Duo of Pierce and Antoine Walker to times when his number-two man ranged from Ricky Dais to Wally Szczerbiak.For an athlete who has a ten to fifteen year window to actively compete for a championship, Pierce had to consider what was best for his career long term.

Had the Celtics not added some veteran talent like Garnett and Allen, we most likely would have seen The Truth in another uniform. And more likely than not, a purple and yellow one.

Growing up in California and attending Inglewood High, Pierce grew up a Lakers fan. At the time, Pierce may have wanted nothing more than to play for the Lakers. I’m sure that desire was still in Pierce if things didn’t work out in Boston.

In the same manner that Garnett would have helped with the Lakers championship pursuit, Pierce would have contributed towards a couple more title banners in Los Angeles.

What if the Celtics trade Ray Allen before the trading deadline this season? In my opinion, this would be the smartest decision that Ainge could make. Yet only if the Celtics were to get young talent in return. I’ve made my stance known on the Monta Ellis deal. I’m all for it. When you have the chance to trade an aging talent for one with the same level of talent, but with fresh young legs, you do it every time.

The Big Three era is going to come crashing down eventually. Ainge might as well begin the transition now. By trading away Allen, you are making the all-important move towards the future. And in a hostile, win-now environment like Boston, anything that can be done to extend your chance of winning in the near future should be done.

The only con of trading Allen now is that you are essentially raising the white flag on any more championships with this current group. Honestly, I would be content with that. Celtics’ fans had the run of our lifetime in 2008. That’s all you can really ask for.

Gethin Coolbaugh is the Associate Editor of Boston Sports U18. He can be reached at 774-279-1995 or at gethin.coolbaugh@bostonsportsu18.com. You can also visit Gethin Coolbaugh’s official website and follow Gethin Coolbaugh on Twitter as well as his official NBA Twitter account.