Jesus Saves?

Can Ray Allen -- also known as Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game -- save the Celtics?

In a knee-jerk deal to appease frustrated Celtics star Paul Pierce, Danny Ainge dealt Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the Celtics' No. 5 Draft pick to Seattle for Ray Allen and the Sonics' No. 35 Draft pick.

With the deal, the Sonics told the Celtics to take Georgetown's Jeff Green. So they did. And the Celtics took LSU's Glen Davis with the 35th pick.

The C's moved Wally World's colossal contract. He never really did anything for me in a Celtics uniform.

But they also took on a big contract of an aging shooting guard in Allen. He's due $26 million over the next two seasons.

When that contract runs out, Jesus will be 34.

34!

And Pierce will be 32.

So much for building around young talent. Delonte West and the No. 5 pick might combine to be better players than a 33-year-old Ray Allen.

In the meantime, the Celtics will now feature this crew of players:

PG Rajon Rondo/Sebastian Telfair/(Pick No. 32) Gabe Pruitt
SG Ray Allen/Tony Allen/Allan Ray
SF Paul Pierce/Gerald Green
PF Al Jefferson/Ryan Gomes/Brian Scalabrine/Glen Davis/Leon Powe
C Kendrick Perkins/Theo Ratliff
*Michael Olowokandi is an unrestricted free agent

Allen, Pierce and Jefferson form a decent three-man core of the team. If, and that's a big if, Rondo, Telfair, Allen, Green, Gomes and Perkins keep developing, the C's might be a playoff spot contender.

But in the Eastern Conference, a team attains a playoff spot with 40 wins. So that begs greater questions.

What kind of Celtics fan are you?

Can you be satisfied for the next two years with a team that wins 40-50 games in a conference weaker than ever?

Can you enjoy a team's postseason when it ends in the first or second round two years in a row?

I'm sorry, but I can't. I want rings. I was born in 1986, the last year the Celtics won a title. In 1987, when I was in diapers, they won a conference title.

I watched the Celtics reach the 2002 Eastern Conference finals. But I also watched Ainge come in and screw it all up. He said he was rebuilding the team around Pierce. And so they started drafting young studs like high schoolers Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Kendrick Perkins.

Ainge wanted Celtics fans to be patient. And we were. He kept adding weapons.

Rajon Rondo, a rookie this past season, turned into a promising young player. Ryan Gomes, a second-round steal in the 2005 NBA Draft, molded into a productive bench player. Gerald Green developed into a confident wing player with lots of potential still waiting to be realized. Kendrick Perkins turned into an efficient rebounder and post presence with some maturing left in his tank.

And Al Jefferson became one of the best scoring big men in the Eastern Conference.

We were patient when Ainge told us to be patient.

And then he pulled the trigger on a deal that clearly shouts, "We are going to try to win now to make an unhappy, whiny Paul Pierce, who sat out half the season with an injury that my grandma could play through, happy again."

So then Danny thinks, "I'm going to deal away one of my team's most promising young players and the fifth pick in the deepest draft in NBA history for an aging star who just had two of his ankles repaired by surgery."

A lot of four-letter words climb to the tip of my tongue.

Perhaps the most harmless word of them all is "quit."

I quit.

I am not a Celtics fan anymore. I will not watch them anymore. I can't handle it. I'm furious.

The 2007-2008 season will shake out in the following way:

Pierce and Allen each average 25 points. Jefferson gives us 20 and 10, maybe more. And Tony Allen and Gerald Green continue to suffer blows to their development because aging stars demand 40 minutes a night. And the Celtics win 45 games.

Wow.

Forty-five games! That is so worth it!

And when the buzzer sounds in Game 5 of the first round demolition of this C-list team by Insert Stale Eastern Conference Opponent Here, we won't be patient.

We'll be mad. And Danny Ainge might become a patient.

Drafting up a memorable night

THE

GREAT

DEBATE

ODEN

OR

DURANT

When most people think summer, they think beach, heat, water, bathing suits, baseball, freedom and/or air conditioning.

I'm not most people.

Far from it, actually.

When I think summer, I think NBA Draft. And with this year's looking juicier than ever, can you blame me?

This is a huge debate: Oden or Durant? Portland owns the first pick. Seattle possesses the second. Whoever Portland takes, or as some would say, doesn't take, Seattle gets the other. Regardless of who they pick, both teams will leave the 2007 NBA Draft with two of the top 10 future stars under 23 in the NBA. Not half bad, I say.

Greg Oden is the safe pick. You've read or heard it everywhere. He will rebound, block shots and basically be a reliable big man, if he stays healthy, for a long time. He will provide whichever team picks him a franchise piece around which a team can be built.

Kevin Durant is the sexy pick. He will instantly be a star. He's more marketable than Oden, but not by that much. He will score a lot right away. He is a competitor. And, in any other draft in the last two seasons, he would have been the top pick.

So who do you take?

I have to say Oden. If you're the Blazers, you have a young nucleus that Oden only enhances. Put Oden in a group with Zach Randolph, Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy, developing LaMarcus Aldridge and Jarrett Jack, and the Blazers are seemingly ready to win now.

Oden's presence with help the Blazers defensively and open things up on the wing.

Durant on the Sonics means that, if Rashard Lewis re-signs, Seattle has a trio of incredible wing players -- Ray Allen, Lewis and Durant. That's a great group. The Sonics need a post player, but around Allen and Durant, Seattle can probably win right away.

Third ain't so bad

Al Horford in a Hawks uniform would be nice to see ... for Atlanta fans. The power forward will be ready to contribute right away and he's better than Shelden Williams.

With Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Horford, the Hawks will probably be playoff contenders.

They'll also be playoff contenders if they can finagle the trade that would land them Amare Stoudamire.

Who knows how that will end up?

The best player no one is really talking about

I say Nick Young from USC. He has good size for a 2-guard, a high release and great athleticism. He is a shooter and a slasher in one. And no matter who gets him, I've heard anywhere from 7 to 20, Young will be effective almost immediately.

A future thorn in your side

Keep an eye on Al Thornton in the future. He might be similar to Josh Howard in the near future. He is a dynamic player with an NBA ready body.

You just can't go wrong

You can't pick incorrectly in the Lottery this year. The picks are good until 14, and even past 14. There are solid players for almost everyone. And the second round features some quality players, too.

I just can't express my happiness. I'm giddy.

It's gonna be a blast.

NBA Finals Preview

This is it. The coronation of a new king. The king. King James I. He grew up overnight. He was a junior in high school when he first appeared on TV. He was on the cover of Slam Magazine. He became the poster child of basketball. He became The Future.

Every basketball fan on the planet knew he would be taken first in the 2003 NBA Draft. It was a no-brainer. And he started his career with a splash, ripping the Sacramento Kings. He had 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals.

Three years, 221 days and 21 hours after his first appearance on an NBA court, LeBron James is there. He is in the NBA Finals. It took the performance of a lifetime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals and the emergence of Daniel Gibson in Game 6, but the Champ is here.

And now it's time for him to shine.

The challenge is formidable. LeBron James and his Cavaliers face Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs won NBA titles in 1999, 2003 and 2005. In each three title wins, Duncan won Finals MVP. He has slowly but surely found his way into conversations regarding the greatest big men -- and players -- of all time.

Duncan has great teammates around him. Tony Parker is one of the top five point guards in the league. Manu Ginobili is the best sixth man in the league. And the role players are working hard and getting results.

Here are the probable starting lineups and key players.

Larry Hughes PG Tony Parker
Sasha Pavlovic SG Michael Finley
LeBron James SF Bruce Bowen
Drew Gooden PF Tim Duncan
Zydrunas Ilgauskas C Fabricio Oberto

Key Cavs reserves
Point guard Daniel Gibson, point guard Eric Snow, forward Anderson Varejao, forward Donyell Marshall and guard Damon Jones

Key Spurs reserves
Wing Manu Ginobili, forward Robert Horry, shooter Brent Barry, forward Cisco Elson and point guard Jacque Vaughn

-- The biggest match up is Bowen and James, no questions asked. Parker told reporters that the Spurs would guard James straight up, one on one. No help defending. No double teams. No triple teams. Just man-to-man, nose-to-the-grindstone defense. Yeah, good luck, Bowen. Here's to hoping LeBron isn't hurt by another Bowen cheap shot.

-- The Cavs will need Hughes to rebound from his sluggish performances throughout these playoffs. He has to be better.

-- Cleveland will also need its big men -- Gooden, Ilgauskas and Anderson -- to produce. They'll be busy covering Duncan, but they have to score. A lot.

-- Duncan can't fade in and out of the games like he did against Utah. Sure, he put up good numbers, but he needs to dominate. He has the teammates around him to carry some of the load. Still, this series is his for the taking. If he establishes himself, the Spurs win. And arguably easily.

I hate making predictions. I'm terrible at them. I always get them wrong. So instead of trying to sound smart, knowledgeable or anything like that, I'll go with what I know best: rooting for a team and picking accordingly.

I haven't wanted a team not to win the NBA title more than the last time Jordan and the Bulls were in the Finals. I rooted so furiously against the Bulls that I had trouble sleeping when they won. Now, I have a new hatred: the San Antonio Spurs. They are boring. They are mechanical. They are everything the NBA doesn't want as the league's champ.

This is supposed to be the coronation of the king. And I will predict what I want to see.

I want LeBron to average a triple-double. I want him to score 35 points a game. I want him to pass the ball better than Magic in his heyday. I want him to rebound like Bill Russell. I want him to steal like John Stockton.

I'll say Cavs in six. They'll win it in Cleveland. They'll shred the history books. And I'll be cheering.

Take it back!

Well, Billy Donovan wants out of his deal with the Orlando Magic. Donovan will be the second coach this summer to take a new job, go to bed, wake up and want out.

Remember the Arkansas debacle? Creighton coach Dana Altman decided, after taking a five-year offer to leave Nebraska for Fayetteville, that he did not want to coach the Razorbacks. He returned to Creighton the next day.

It's deja vu all over again. But the stakes are much, much higher. This is the NBA. This isn't some Missouri Valley coach freaking out over taking an SEC job. This is a two-time NCAA champ freaking out over taking -- as Bill Simmons would say -- The Leap.

There's nothing left in college hoops for Donovan. He has two titles. He had an entire starting lineup enter the NBA Draft, and four of them are top-10 picks. The NBA would be a new challenge.

But with the new challenge comes a changed role. He wouldn't be in charge of personnel decisions -- he'd only have a say in them. He'd be an opinion in a discussion on free agents and draft picks. He wouldn't literally extend his hand and guarantee a spot on his roster. Not in the NBA. That's what the execs are for. They make the big money.

So that would leave Donovan in a simpler role. All he'd have to do is coach. Just coach. No personnel. No recruiting swings. No text messaging recruits. No e-mailing boosters. None of that. Just coaching.

And NBA players don't need as much teaching. Donovan would basically be handling personalities and deciding how many times Dwight Howard touches the ball.

That might be too boring. But it doesn't change my previous post. It doesn't change VCU coach Anthony Grant's imminent arrival as Florida's Next Coach. It's just a matter of when. And whether or not Donovan can live with his decision to move on.

This one's a mulligan.

Grant me a wish...

Billy "The Kid" Donovan is headed to Orlando. Not for vacation after his second national title in a row. He's the next head coach of the Orlando Magic.

But that's not the only news.

Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant has been tabbed as the probable replacement to Donovan in Gainesville after VCU's successful 2006-2007 campaign. Grant coached the Rams to a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament by way of a colossal upset of sixth-seeded Duke in the first round. He took over after Jeff Capel bolted for Oklahoma.

Grant was an assistant under Donovan in Florida's first title run in 2006. Grant guided VCU to a 28-7 record. But the program was built by Capel.

And now Grant is probably headed to Florida, where Donovan has already (obviously) built a winner.

I met Grant in Buffalo when he and his coaching staff scouted Pitt. Pitt was lambasting 14th-seeded Wright State in its first round game. VCU lost to Pitt in the second round, in overtime, 84-79.

But I was certainly impressed by Grant (and his coaching staff) both in action, at the press conferences and while he sat next to me scouting Pitt. Grant is a straight-forward guy. He doesn't mess around. He shows no fear, no nerves, no anxiety. He is serious. He is honest. And he is one of the most poised coaches I've ever met or heard at press conferences.

And I've seen Jim Calhoun, Rick Pitino, John Thompson III, Jamie Dixon, Ben Howland, Coach K, etc., etc.

A lot of people were saying that Grant, who is 41, would probably replace Donovan when Billy decided to test the NBA waters. But no one was expecting Donovan to test them so soon. The 42-year-old boy wonder has done everything he can in college hoops. There isn't much else to do. And the personnel decisions aren't all on him anymore. He has the GM and front office to help with that. So you can't blame him for trying.

In the meantime, Grant's ticket to the top tier of coaching will probably be punched far sooner than we thought. And he deserves it.

Grant could very easily be among the great coaches before his days at Florida are over. He knows how to prepare his team. He knows how to carry himself. He knows how to win. And if Florida hires him, he won't need time to build a winner. Billy Donovan built the winner.

Grant will just keep bringing home titles. And I don't think there is a better guy for the job.