The Third Year

So the answer to my question is that the Celtics caved and coughed up a third year to Rasheed. Good. I'd even bet the Celtics upped the ante over the July 4th weekend, and that's what marked the turning point in the negotiations. Sheed did pull the plug on interviewing with other teams in an awful hurry.

The final three years of the KG Era will now include another big with similar skills. This should increase the chances that Ray-Ray and the Truth re-up on the cheap when the time comes, if they want to keep pursuing rings and solidify their places in NBA history and Celtics lore.

The third year also takes management one step closer to disabusing themselves of the notion that they can transition smoothly to the Post-KG Era. I love Rajon and I love Perk. But the championship-caliber play will end once KG calls it a career. Sure, there is a chance that the Celtics could convince a couple of big name free agents to sign-on and carry the torch after the current roster is no more. But (a) that is too far off to worry about, and (b) Bill Walker, JR Giddens, and Gabe Pruitt are not the players that management will choose to fill the shoes of the current Celtics stars.