Celtics fans across the country held their collective breath as the lottery balls bounced up and down, holding with them the futures of several NBA franchises. The Celtics had the second best chance, next to the Memphis Grizzlies, to land the first overall pick in 2007, and with that, they would presumably draft either Greg Oden, out of Ohio State or Kevin Durant, from the University of Texas. But, like the past 20 years had shown, the luck wasn’t going to fall in the Celtics favor. They ended up with the number five pick in the draft, and that singular pick would eventually set off a series of trades and signings culminating with Boston’s 17th NBA Championship.
The Celtics traded the number five pick, along with guards Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak to the Seattle Supersonics for All-Star shooting guard, and future Hall of Famer Ray Allen, and the 35th overall pick, which turned out to be Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Averaging 21.7 ppg coming into 2007, Ray Allen is of the elite at his position, and was a perfect fit for a Celtics team desperate for a second scorer to compliment Paul Pierce.
Boston seemed set to try and compete again in the Atlantic division with a nice core of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Al Jefferson. But GM Danny Ainge had one more trick up his sleeve.
On August 1, 2007, The Boston Celtics traded five players, including Al Jefferson, along with two first-round picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for former MVP power forward Kevin Garnett. The entire NBA has officially been shaken up. The Celtics faithful finally hit lady luck, and now there’s truly a championship contender back in Bean Town.
Joining Al Jefferson in the trade from the Celtics were forwards Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green, along with guard Sebastian Telfair, and Mr. Reliable Theo Ratliff and his expiring contract. The Celtics have just pulled off one of the biggest trades not only this decade, but in NBA history, rivaling the Kareem to LA, Russell to Boston, and Wilt to LA trades.
The Celtics with their newly formed All-Star laden team, featuring Pierce, Allen, and Garnett, and young’n’s Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, blasted through the regular season, starting off 29-3, leading the league in all defensive categories, and earning a trip to the NBA Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers, where they won their 17th championship, and first since 1986.
It was truly a magical season as the Celtics regained their dominance in the league that is so rooted in their tradition, and they hope to continue that supremacy here in the ‘09-’10 season.
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