This is season five of the Big Three. When Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were assembled in 2007, few thought they’d be as successful as they immediately were and even fewer thought they would still be together five seasons later. It feels like we’ve been predicting the final act of the Big Three for a couple of years now, but the curtain is coming down on an era of Boston basketball one way or another this time.
Allen, 36, and Garnett, 35, are in the last years of their contract and as Ainge has shown by shopping Rondo, he’s not the sentimental type.
It’s been a glorious run for the trio of Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, who have restored the luster to the game’s most storied franchise, but Pierce’s age now matches his number (34), and he’s the young pup of the trio of future Hall of Famers.
There is a sense of urgency surrounding the Celtics and an air of honesty.
“This is most likely our last shot, and I was honest with them about that,’’ said Rivers, who signed a five-year, $35 million deal in the offseason to remain coach. “I said this has to be a team that looks at ourselves because this is our only year that we can do it. You may never be in this position again as a player or as a coach, and we have to try to take advantage of it.
“With Danny, you know he is going to be aggressive enough he’s going to try to get us every single part. One of the things I told Danny is I don’t care if it doesn’t fit, get talent. I’ll take talent, and we’ll figure it out. I was serious about that. You need skill in this league to win.’’
That’s ultimately the question about the Celtics. Do their aging stars have enough left in the tank to overtake the nouveau riche of the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat, who bounced the Celtics in five games last year?
If you’re wondering why Ainge, the Celtics president of basketball operations, had Rondo’s name swishing about in trade talks like merlot at a wine tasting, it’s because he can see the end coming. Trading for Chris Paul was as much about the present as the future. It was about giving this team the best chance to win this season and prying open a closing championship window.
