Celtics Aren't Bad Enough ... And That's Bad!

As wild as surprisingly entertaining as Thursday's NBA Draft was, the story of the night was the trade between the Celtics and Nets.  The headline was Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry heading to Brooklyn ... but the real story was the Celtics blowing it up and starting from the ground up. 

That skims over what really happened.

The Celtics are starting over.  This happens to be the year that everyone decided it was time.  Ray Allen left last summer, Doc Rivers didn't want to helm a rebuilding project and KG and Pierce hobbled to a #7 seed while Rajon Rondo missed the end of the season and postseason.  This was a franchise that nearly beat the Heat in 2012 and made the NBA Finals.  Now it is headed for the lottery.  And the projected 2014 NBA Draft lottery will be stacked.

Whatever you feel about it, it was bound to happen.  The key for Boston is this: did they get bad enough?  I mean, what's the point of blowing up your team if you aren't getting nice young pieces in the deal (they didn't), future draft picks (they did) and a bad enough team that you can net yourself one of the top prizes in the draft (they didn't).

After all, Rondo is still there.  So is Jeff Green.  Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and Jordan Crawford are there as well.  So are rising sophomores Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo.  The cupboard isn't that bare.

Now take into account what the Celtics got back in the deal.  Kris Humphries is a nice rebounder, though rumors swirl that he'll never get to wear a Celtics uniform.  Gerald Wallace is a former All-Star, a nice defender and a decent forward.  MarShon Brooks has a nice rookie season in 2012.  Kris Joseph and Keith Bogans won't make a huge difference.  They also added Kelly Olynyk in the draft. 

Is this a roster that is really that bad?  To become one of the worst teams in the NBA, they really have some work to do.  Are they worse than the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets?  Nope.  Are they worse than the Orlando Magic?  Probably not.  Not to mention that the hapless Sixers just sent their lone All-Star (Jrue Holiday) to New Orleans via trade to get two rookies, one of which is coming off a blown knee (Nerlens Noel) and the Toronto Raptors are rumored to be sending Andres Bargnani to the Knicks.  The Milwaukee Bucks, who finished as an 8th seed last season, could lose their top two players in Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings.  The Celtics look like at worse the 12th seed in the East.  That's not even looking out West where the Suns and Kings are bottom feeders.

With everyone knowing the draft class of 2014 is stacked, who knows if there are any other teams that will tank their seasons.

It is certain that Boston will make more moves, but which ones?  Unless something major happens, I don't see them dealing Rondo.  Green could be dealt, but what would he net you? 

If Boston really wants to be bad -- ugly bad -- they may need to put in a little more work.