Looking back on the Celtics and Lakers' past year.
I. Last Year
As a franchise so rich in history and tradition faded further into the New England sports background behind the likes of the suddenly-perennial Series-winning Red Sox and the Handycam-wielding, perfection-challenging Patriots, the Celtics began to look into the mirror and hate themselves. And just like an obese person tacks on more weight just to qualify for reserved-for-the-morbidly-obese gastro surgery, the tank brigade was out in full force by January as losses began piling up in bunches, whether purposefully or not, to land the coveted #1 draft pick.
The Lakers’ NBA scoring champ Kobe Bryant along with his some-guys stumbled their way through another season of ups and downs, secured a low playoff seed, and then vanished in the Los Angeles smog before casual Laker fans could settle into their plush seats. The Lakers drew the Phoenix Suns for the second consecutive year and were vanquished in 5, after losing in seven the previous year. That gave the Lakers a whopping non-playoff season followed by 2 straight first round defeats in the 3 years since Shaq left Hollywood, and full custody of the Lakers went to Kobe.II. Offseason
Feeling good about a nearly forty-percent chance of landing one of the coveted top-two selections in the draft, the Celtics put on their green party hats, had the champagne on ice, and already prepared a brand-new jersey, waiting to be embroidered with either franchise-savior "Oden" or "Durant" between the shoulders. In a moment that can only be considered being kicked when down, general manager Danny Ainge took ping-pong balls to face before being granted the privilege of picking…fifth. PWND. Tim Duncan all over again. In a scene cut from the final broadcast, Doc Rivers had to be restrained from taking the podium to spit out several "Oh, hell no's", Kanye glasses and all. Hope that 23-win season was worth it.What can be said that hasn’t already about the Laker’s offseason. Lose, sulk, make ridiculous and dramatic demands to management. Andrew Bynum was enemy number one, the entire front office close behind, and Kobe still wanted a new partner to help take on the load: Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Baron Davis, Carlos Boozer. No moves were made, and Kobe wanted to be on the next Southwest flight out to his new team in Chicago.
III. Aftermath
It must have been such an emotionally and morally difficult task for Danny Ainge to look his players in the eyes and tell them that most of them suck, although fans were saying that about Doc for years. The Celtics refused such an insulting draft pick and shipped it as far away as possible to Seattle, along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to acquire an aging but still-sharpshooting Ray Allen. With relationship trouble brewing in Minnesota between a ring-less Garnett and the Timberwolves, Boston saw another opportunity to climb out of the Eastern cellar and leave the Bobcats and Knicks behind.
KG and Ainge met and immediately fell in love, well at least after Allen was already on board. It also didn’t hurt having an inept, former Celtic GM to work with in Kevin McHale, as the Celtics sent Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, a draft pick, a gross of baked beans, a case of Sam Adams, a signed McHale jersey, corned beef, three iPods, and a book of Sudoku's in the hopes that the Wolves would cut off ties with him. Meet the new Boston Big Three.
As he was taking the GM position in Memphis years ago, Jerry West told Kobe that he would do whatever needed to get Kobe another ring. And, it looks like that reality is about to set. Whether this is true or not, it did look a bit suspicious in February after the trade went down, the 2 teams West helped shape and mold, taking part in a heist for the Lakers: All Star Gasol for stone-handed Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and 2 future crappy, late first round picks.Looked even more suspicious seeing West on the Staples Center court last week, handing the Western Conference championship trophy to Bryant, chit-chatting with Pau, and realizing his promise was finally coming to fruition. While West has repeatedly denied being involved in the trade, perhaps he was really doing the Grizzlies a favor, secretly knowing that Kwame would eventually drop the bust label after 7 years and become the next Kareem down low for years in Memphis. Maybe not.
So the rest is regular season history. The top team in the West squares off against the top team in the East. Lakers-Celtics, and a rivalry renewed. KG finally playing in his first NBA Finals. Kobe finally getting back sans Shaq. While both teams have taken extremely different paths through the years getting back to this point, here we are. A fitting culmination to one of the best seasons in recent memory. Congrats, David Stern.
