Important Summer Looming For Celtics

After spending a week in the paradise that is St. Martin, I return to find the Celtics falling behind the Cavaliers and Magic in the Eastern Conference. As you already know, both the Cavs and Magic made blockbuster trades that for the time being give them a clear advantage over the Celtics in the hierarchy of the East. Cleveland acquired Shaquille O'Neal from Phoenix in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Orlando picked up Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson by sending Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie to New Jersey. These moves do not guarantee the Cavaliers or Magic an NBA championship in 2010 but they are signs that both teams are not happy about failing to win the championship in 2009. The Cavs could not contain Dwight Howard's strength inside the paint in the Eastern Finals so they added Shaq to give them their own powerful presence inside. Shaq is not the dominant player he once was but as a sidekick to LeBron James, he has the ability to put Cleveland over the top. The Magic feared losing forward Hedo Turkoglu to free agency so they made the preemptive move of trading for Carter, a 23.5 points-per-game scorer in his career. The addition of Carter gives Orlando two versatile forwards -- don't forget Rashard Lewis -- who can score from anywhere which will take pressure away from Howard inside. As for the Celtics, it doesn't look like they will make a major move. They do have the expiring contract of Ray Allen to dangle but moving Allen will just create another hole on their roster. Rajon Rondo has had his name mentioned as trade bait as well but I don't see any realistic deals that involve Rondo being moved and the Celtics improving simultaneously. Danny Ainge is going to have to improve his team through the free agent market. This will be no easy task as the Celtics are already over the salary cap for next season and have just the mid-level exception (MLE, worth roughly $5.5-million), the low-level exception (LLE, worth roughly $2-million), and the veteran minimum (of which the team is responsible for just over $800,000). There are some interesting names on the free agent market who could fit with the Celtics if they are willing to sacrifice dollars for an opportunity to compete for a championship. The C's need help in the front court, especially with the future of top reserves Glen Davis (free agent) and Leon Powe (free agent, recovering from a torn ACL) in jeopardy. They also need help on the wing as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen aren't getting any younger and the trio of young role players -- Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens, and Tony Allen -- don't give Doc Rivers too much too work with. Two names that I would love to see Ainge pursue off the free agent list are Rasheed Wallace and Matt Barnes. Wallace is a veteran who has made tons of cash in his career so playing for less money in exchange for title is not out of the question. He is a threat to score from inside or outside, he is an excellent rebounder, and he can block shots. Wallace would be a great weapon off the bench behind Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins. Barnes would be an ideal fit for the role played by James Posey on the 2008 championship team. He is an aggressive defender who can cover perimeter players or mix it up inside. He is a high energy player who has the ability to hit the open three-pointer. If Ainge can convince both Garnett and Barnes to come to Boston, as well as Stephon Marbury (most likely for the veteran minimun) and Leon Powe, the C's would look like this: 5: Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, Leon Powe 4: Kevin Garnett, Wallace, Brian Scalabrine 3: Paul Pierce, Matt Barnes, Bill Walker 2: Ray Allen, Eddie House (potential free agent), J.R. Giddens, Tony Allen, Lester Hudson 1: Rajon Rondo, Stephon Marbury, Gabe Pruitt I would take that team over both the Cavaliers and Magic. It is filled with veterans and is deep enough to make a run at a second championship in three years. Whatever Ainge does, he has to find a creative way to improve his team to stay in contention in the East, as well as with the Lakers and Spurs in the West.