'Sheed Coming To Boston

In their long and glorious history, the Boston Celtics have usually found a way to add an important player in their efforts to build championship teams. Don Nelson, signed in 1966, helped the team win titles in '66, '68, '69, '74, and '76. Paul Silas was traded to the C's in 1972 and helped them win championships in '74 and '76. Bill Walton was brought to Boston in the summer of 1985 and was a critical member of the greatest basketball team of all-time* 1986 World Champions. (* With all due respect to Joe Posnanski, I'm stealing the asterisk. The '86 Celtics won 67 games and featured four Hall of Fame forwards - Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Walton - as well as three other players - Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, and Scott Wedman - who were All-Stars at one point in their careers. Bird and Walton both were MVP during their careers. I loved the '96 Bulls but the '86 Celtics are the greatest of all-time.) In the summer of 2007, the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, leading to the '08 championship. Rasheed Wallace, who will sign with the Celtics this week, is hoping to join the previously mentioned players as a member of a Celtics championship team. Wallace gives the Celtics much needed size and skill off the bench. He can play either center or power forward and a front line of Garnett, Wallace, and Kendrick Perkins is among the best in the NBA. This is the signing the Celtics needed after watching the Cavaliers trade for Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic trade for Vince Carter, and the Lakers signing of Ron Artest. Wallace had also attracted the interest of Cleveland, Orlando, and San Antonio so the Celtics gain is also their rivals loss. There is also talk of veteran forward Grant Hill coming to Boston as a free agent.