The trade accomplished three things: 1)Kept Big Al, 2) Made us better, 3) Got rid of an awful contract. It will also allow Gerald to come along more slowly, as he showed us he is nowhere near ready yet. People have to realize there is more to come as well. Ratliff's contract will not be allowed to expire because we will lose that money since we are over the cap.

Love the trade, and can't wait to see Danny Ainge's next move. It took him a while to right the ship, but he has the Celtics in a position they have never been before, that is to be able to make this team better! Way to go DANNY! I'd like to hear from all you Danny haters out there. You're starting to sound like Yankee fans . . . the silence is deafening.

Do you think the KG deal is now dead Teddy? Or will the Celts still give up Jefferson to get KG? Perhaps they drafted the point gaurd to package him with Jefferson and Ratliff for KG?

Losing respect for KG because he does not want to play in Boston is ridiculous. Really, he should accept a challenge and join the 2nd worst team in the league (and a young one at that) to make you happy? Would you have lost respect for Shaq if he said he did not want to be traded to the Bobcats or Grizzlies or if Jordan refused a trade a similar lowly team. If you were to be transferred to a different part of the country would you not have a preference or try and manipulate your hand. Why do you feel KG or any other athletes should (transfer) go to whatever team management sees fit without having a strong opinion on the matter. Get real.

As I mentioned Hartford, I'll have a bit more to say about my reasoning in a few days. But to answer your specific examples;

Shaq went to a very average Miami team and combined with Wade to make them a champion. He relished the challenge of being the "difference-maker," even though in the end it turned out that Wade was "The Man" on the Heat. Jordan came back with the Wizards. Granted, he was the GM at the time, but he didn't trade himself to the Spurs or Lakers. In his own mind, he was great enough to make Washington a contender all by himself. You see, that's what the truly great ones do. They accept a challenge instead of looking for the easy way out.

And make no mistake, Garnett posturing for a trade to the Lakers or Phoenix is because he does not want to be and, deep down inside, probably realizes he cannot be, THE MAN. If he was THE MAN, his team wouldn't have been in the lottery in the first place. As lousy as the Lakers have been, at least Kobe gets them to the playoffs with just as bad a surrounding cast as KG has, if not worse.

Sure Garnett wants his ring, but he wants Kobe or Nash to get it for him. As great as he is, he doesn't think he's good enough to take an average team over the top. If he did, he'd have accepted the challenge of Boston instead of running from it.

Please don't use him in the same sentence as Michael or Shaquille. He is no Jordan. He is no Shaq. He's more like Karl Malone. I hope he rots in Minnesota. Or better yet, I hope he does go to the Suns and ends up like Malone...looking on sadly from the bench while another team celebrates at his expense, and realizing he will go down as a great player, but not a champion because he didn't have the stones to get it done on his own!

Here's the thing T2; the Garnett talk is still alive because the Celtics have the single most valuable piece that Kevin McHale covets...Al Jefferson. The trick is finding something of value to go along with Ratliff's contract to make the deal happen now that the #5 pick is out of the equation.

Is Gerald Green enough? I don't know, but at some point, McHale is going to get desperate because now that the genie's out of the bottle, they can't expect KG to go back to Minny. Way too much water under the bridge for that to happen. Will Phoenix step up and offer Stoudamire? Doubt it, or they would have already done so. What can Dallas offer? Golden State? How is that a better situation than the Celtics? So we may have a few more weeks of this stuff to go before we find out how it all shakes out, but you can be sure McHale will get more and more desperate as time goes on, and he'll get less and less return on the dollar as time goes on. Garnett will never fetch as much in trade as he would have before draft night.

I'm sure with Pierce and Allen around, Garnett will find the Celtics more desirable. Do I still make the trade for him, even though I've lost some respect? Sure. With Pierce, Allen and Garnett, you have your Eastern Conference champion unless Shaq rediscovers the fountain of youth or LeBron's imcompetent GM and coach convince Kobe to join up with him.

What happens? Who knows. But I do know this; It's the end of June, the Red Sox are the best team in baseball...the Pats are about to launch a Super Bowl campaign, yet everyone's talking about, and fascinated by, the Celtics.

Say what you will about Danny Ainge...he's finally made them relevant again!

By the way, when you folks get a minute, hop on over to this link:

http://www.thesunblog.com/entertainment/

Our TV & Entertainment blogger Andy Ravens offers some thoughts on last night's draft activity and how all this new media makes following it a "blast." Plus he agrees with me, so you know I'm not going to miss a chance to reinforce my argument!

I was not a very big fan of the trade the Celtics made last night. I thought they gave up too much to get Allen. Losing Wally and Delonte was not a big deal, but the #5 pick was steep. The only thing that gives me hope is the fact that Garnett may still come to Boston. Having Allen, Pierce and Garnett will make us a very dangerous team.

Hopefully Ainge plays his cards right and gets Garnett on the cheap since McHale will start getting desperate to get anything for him. I wouldn't be surprised that a trade for Jefferson, Ratliff and another player (hopefully Scalabrine) would do it. I would even give them next years first round pick if it makes a difference; we don't seem to use them anyways and with Garnett the pick won't be in the lottery. I would definitely hold on to Minnesota's first round pick in 2009, since they are going to suck when Garnett leaves.

None of the teams that Garnett wants to play with (LA and Phoenix) are willing to give up as much as the Celtics are; plus, McHale would love to get Jefferson. If the Garnett deal does happen, this will only open the door for many other good players to consider coming to Boston.

I was initially skeptical myself, T3, until I realized Ainge did the best he possibly could under the circumstances of getting nothing out of the lottery.

Can anyone tell me with any certainty that the #5 pick (Yi, Green, or whoever the hell they would have taken) will become a stud in this league? I didn't think so. Each and every one of those guys is a long term project, by which point Pierce would be gone or washed up, and even Jefferson might leave via free agency. The vicious cycle of building with youth would continue for another decade, unless you lucked into a LeBron-type #1 pick. We know how that turns out, don't we?

Now then, back to this Garnett thing. You touched on what could be the key to the deal...that #1 pick of Minny's that we own. I'm sure Ainge would love to keep it, because the Wolves will really stink once they trade Garnett. I don't see them turning it around by the 2009 draft, so that pick could be another top-5 selection. Is McHale desperate enough to take Jefferson and that pick? He should be, if he isn't. If I had to bet, now that our #5 is gone, we'll have to use that future pick in any Garnett deal. I'd rather give then Gerald Green, but I think we all know that's not going to be good enough.

Again though, this underscores what a good job Ainge has done in accumulating assets. He takes a lot of garbage from these experts, but he has the chips in place to at least be a player in these deals. Sooner or later, he's going to strike gold.

Well, well it has been a while and have to admit, I really miss this stuff. First off Ted, I love ya, but giving Garnett a hard time for not wanting to come to Boston and build a contender, over going to Phoenix or L.A..... I won't even entertain that argument because you can't really believe that. I do agree with most of your points regarding garnett and his mentality and talent level. He is not a clutch, go to guy and is not worthy of being mentioned in the MJ category.
As for the trade, I was telling T3 on the phone that night.. after fearing he was going to have a heart attack, was that Ray Allen at least puts them in a better position than they were in last year even if they do not pick up someone else... which I think they will. Getting rid of Wally and that outrageously ridiculous contract while keeping Theo's contract for future leverage was on e of the better moves that Ainge has made in a long time. I really feel that with Pierce and Allen, it my become more attractive for Garnett to come to the C's for Jefferson and Theo's contract, plus a throw in. However, the only way Garnet will come is if the Lakers or Suns dont get it done because he will sign with them at first option.. I just think that Garnett going to those cities will probably fall through and McHale will be forced to trade to the C's because frankly I cant see him in a Timberwolves jersey after this off season, plus the Timberwolves would be absolutely stupid to keep him and lose him for nothing next year.

Seeing as you've basically echoed everything I said, what don't you agree on in terms of Garnett? Is he not basically looking for the easy way out? Shouldn't a guy with his salary think he's good enough to team up with Paul Pierce in a weak Eastern Conference and make a title run? Sure, we'd all love to play with Nash, but only 11-other guys get to.

Here's a unique suggestion. Go to the Suns, tell them you'll opt out of your ridiculous contract but re-sign with them for a more reasonable salary figure that won't force the team to pay a luxury tax. That might make them more likely to trade for him, right? But Mr. Garnett, like most of these guys, wants it both ways.

I still stand by my comment; if you're really that good. If you really relish a challenge instead of cowering from it, you play for the Celtics and not the Suns.