All-Star weekend could be key moment for Celtics

Tonight marks the Boston Celtics’ final game before the NBA’s annual three-day extravaganza, better known as the All-Star break. While the Celtics will roll into All-Star weekend with three All-Stars, it is becoming abundantly clear that the 2009-2010 edition of the Celtics simply may not be good enough for a long playoff run.Celtics fans were well aware that when GM Danny Ainge assembled the “Big Three,” their run of dominance would be brief; after all, Father Time can sometimes be the most difficult of opponents. For a team riddled with injuries and littered with question marks, the 2010 All-Star weekend could define both this current Celtics season as well as the future of the entire franchise. Celtics fans will remember that it was at the All-Star Game just two years ago that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett wooed then-retired P.J. Brown to join the Celtics for their stretch run. Without Brown, the Celtics probably would not have gotten past the Cleveland Cavaliers and into the NBA Finals. In addition to the game’s festivities, All-Star weekend gives NBA general managers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with one another and lay the groundwork for future deals.The most brilliant part of the Celtics’ acquisition of Garnett and Allen was the way that Ainge was able to stagger their contracts. Essentially, Ainge will have his choice of an expiring max contract or a very tradable asset each of the next three seasons (Allen, then Pierce and finally Garnett). It is what Ainge chooses to do with his players that will set the Celtics up for their next title run. With the Celtics going a dismal 2-9 against the Eastern Conference’s best (Orlando, Atlanta, and Cleveland), Ainge has found himself in a place where trading Allen is no longer a luxury but instead a necessity. Unfortunately for the Celtics and for Allen, the 2010 All-Star Game marks the first that Allen will not be participating in as a member of the Celtics – just another sign that his current value to the Green is as an expiring contract and no longer as an elite player.Ainge has found himself in the unique position to rebuild the Celtics for the long term in a relatively short period of time, and while giving up on their 2010 championship hopes may seem like a stiff price to pay, the price will seem minute when compared to the 21-year championship drought that not trading away the pieces of the original Big Three cost fans of the Green.