My biggest fear with the Celtics trade for KG back in the day was that if that their window with aging superstars was going to be very tiny and that if they didn't win a championship within the first three seasons than frankly it wasn't going to happen. The trade was validated in year one with the title, but now its evident that 09-10 just might be the last year of the Celtics window because the old roster in 08-09 is getting significantly older in 09-10.The news about the Celtics eminent signing of Rasheed Wallace was filled with mostly positives around the media. He's been a borderline all star for his entire career. He adds experience, championship pedigree, the ability to hit a 3, and of course a little bit of psycho. The problem? He adds increasingly to the age of the Celtics at the complete detriment to the youth on the roster. At the start of the season Rasheed will be 35 years old, making him the oldest player in the Celtics lineup. Older than Ray (34), KG (33) and Pierce (32).
What Rasheed costs the team is the infusion of youth talent off the bench that the Celtics had the past two seasons. Last year when KG went down the front court was held down valiently by both Leon Powe and Glen Davis. With the signing of Rasheed it is incredibly likely that both are gone. So instead of two players in their prime, the Celtics are signing up another star on his last legs.
Furthermore the Celtics are in the market for a backup swingman. So naturally who are they going after? The oldest most brittle player on the market of course, Grant Hill.
And just in case you want to hear it from the horses mouth, here's a quote from Leon Powe regarding what he was told when his qualifying offer was not matched by the Celtics:
“They told me, ‘Good luck with another team.’ Doc told me that he wanted me there, and he would do whatever he could to make sure I came back, but Danny came to me yesterday saying that they only have a two-year window, and I would be taking up a roster spot for someone else.”
So if you're a Celtic fan like myself you better enjoy every second of this season and perhaps the next because come the 11-12 season things just might be real ugly again at the Boston Garden.
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