It's the dynasty as promised

From 1956 to 1969, the Boston Celtics won 24 of 26 playoff series. The NBA's equivalent to the Corleone family later touted a 24-10 record in the playoffs from 1979 to1992 during some of the pinnacle years of basketball talent and entertainment.

Alas injuries, tragedy, and inept management crumbled the empire as quickly as it was built. In the Post-Bird years, the Celtics have made the playoffs only six times, triumphant in just three playoff series and endured four first-round exits. Even more depressing is the now 12 of 16 seasons that the once proud franchise have failed to finish above .500.

For years, the late Red Auerbach took advantage of NBA owners and general managers, who were in such awe and fear of the Celtics' President that they cowered in his presence and succumbed to his tactics.

• Oct. 14, 1951: Trades for the rights to Bill Sharman, who most teams thought would play baseball, from Detroit. Sharman quits baseball and signs with the Celtics.
• April 29, 1956: Trades Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to St. Louis for a first-round draft pick, used to draft Bill Russell.
• March 26, 1962: Drafts John Havlicek with the ninth pick in the first-round.
• June 9 1978: Drafts Larry Bird through a loophole that allowed the Celtics to select him if they could sign him before the 1979 draft. Bird signed on June 8, 1979.
  
• June 9, 1980: Sends the 1st and 13th overall picks in the draft to Golden State for center Robert Parish and the 3rd overall pick. With the third pick, Auerbach selected Kevin McHale.
• June 27, 1983: Deals Rick Robey to Phoenix for Dennis Johnson.
• Sept. 6, 1985: Trades Cedric Maxwell to the LA Clippers for Bill Walton.

As Red's role in the Celtics diminished, the team failed to replace him anyone remotely capable of bringing in as much talent as he was able to. Much of this is due to a salary cap that was designed to create parity, yet individuals such as Jan Volk, Dave Gavitt, M.L. Carr, Don Gaston, Rick Pitino, and Chris Wallace were what truly destroyed this team. What irony that an organization that thrived on preying on inadequate basketball minds would be victimized by the same fate that many others suffered.

4 years ago, Danny Ainge came to save the team and it seemed to be a match made in heaven. He was the heir apparent. It was always a first name basis between Danny and Celtic fans. The red-haired guard, famous for his daring shots that always seemed to be poor decisions but routinely fell through the net as if he knew exactly what he was doing, was going to re-build the franchise and we embraced him then as we did during the years he wore the green and white jersey. Gone was the slow and plodding pace that was in place from Coach Obie. Gone were the defensive-minded, offensively-limited veterans. Gone was Employee #8. In was uptempo basketball with athletic young basketball players.

And thus Celtic nation began a torturous period of time where Ainge has toyed with the roster, failed to develop a set plan, yet continued to bring talent that somehow would slip through the cracks of the league. 2006-07 was supposed to be the year it all came together. A healthy Paul Pierce coming off his best season in years. A Bob McAdoo-clone in Al Jefferson. Three young point guards, including two with gamebreaking speed. Depth at the wings.

And just 24 wins later, the 06-07 season ended just as so many others in recent history have. Yet this year left a strange taste in the mouths of many. Bizarre injuries. Strange coaching decisions. The Celtics suddenly reverted back to the ML Carr days, playing not for victories, but for a draft pick. And strangely enough, the fans didn't abandon the team. Attendance barely changed and the team actually became more relevant in both the local and national media. The reason for which the Celtic fans didn't start donning paper bags for hats and holding signs demanding a scapegoat was because we somehow agreed with what was going on the TD Banknorth Garden. We watched the highlights and the clips of a 7'0'' throwback center and a 6'9'' do-it-all kid, and we realized that for the greater good of the franchise, we HAD to sacrifice the season.

Why? Because the Celtics are not supposed to mediocre. For years, they haven't been bad. They have suffered a fate even worse; they were irrelevant. The NBA was built upon rivalries between the Celtics and teams like the Lakers, the Knicks, and 76ers. The Celtics had to somehow abandon the mediocrity and embrace futility for the hopes of greatness. They recognized that simply bringing in young under appreciated players in the draft and mixing them with a couple veterans wasn't working. Other teams have caught up and no longer were tricked by superior management (although Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Billy King, and Billy Knight, to name a few may disprove that statement). Boston no longer was a enviable destination for free agents and under the current rules, few quality free agents ever leave their own organization.

The Celtics are resting the fate of the franchise on a 40% chance. Cite divine intervention, the luck of the Irish, the watchful spirit of Red Auerbach if you will, but if the Celtics are smiling on May 22nd, it will simply because of the a number that is the same as Sebastian Telfair's career shooting percentage (slightly depresssing considering that he is about the last player you would want to hit a jumper to save the franchise).

Tanking? Sure, call it what you may. But had the Celtics won 35, 36 games, heck, even if they made the playoffs, the goal of winning a championship would remain light years away. Now, all it will simply take is a few ping pong balls bouncing the right way and the dynasty will be restored. Yes, the organization that was built brick by brick will now rely on the odds.

Now, it may not play out this way. The Celtics could end up with the third, or fourth, or fifth pick (which may not be a terrible thing by the way- three years ago, every team was praying for a high schooler named LeBron. Now, a Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh later, the situation hardly seems as dire), and the entire season will seem a waste. But Celtic fans will never abandon the team and the re-building process will just have to take a little longer.

But in the meantime, we still can enjoy imagining either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant donning Celtic green and restoring the relevancy of this once-proud franchise. And that is why neither I, nor any member of the Celtic organization, have any regrets about what happened this season.