The Boston Celtics have acquired seven-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen in yesterday’s draft day deal, which sent guard Delonte West, forward Wally Szczerbiak, and the draft rights to Jeff Green (#5 overall pick) to Seattle, in return for All-Star guard Ray Allen and the draft rights to forward/center Glen “Big Baby” Davis (#35 overall pick). Boston also selected USC guard Gabe Pruitt with the 32nd pick in the draft, who is a big combo guard (6′4”), an excellent athlete, and a very aggressive defender.

Initially, Celtics fans (as well as Sonics fans) had mixed emotions, but C’s fans are certainly warming up to the deal and beginning to appreciate it, as they should. Ray Allen may be turning 32 years old next month (June 20), but he has a lot of basketball left in him. It’s safe to say that he has 3-4 years left at All-Star caliber level, or somewhere close to it, and he will undoubtedly be a key contributor until he decides to call it quits. His game is natural, but physically oriented. In other words, his basketball IQ and jump shot aren’t going anywhere for a long time, much like Reggie Miller.

Some may think we gave up a tad bit too much, but at the end of the day, we got ourselves another perennial All-Star without giving up Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo, or Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract (which is still very much in play for another move either this summer or near the trade deadline). Allen compliments Pierce on the perimeter, as Pierce plays more of a “power 3″ game while Allen perhaps has the best jump shot in the entire league. Mix that combination with Al Jefferson in the post, you have a very special trio just waiting to break through with the addition of a key role player or two. Get your popcorn ready, Celtics fans, basketball is back in Boston. We are relevant again.

We are just hours away from the 2007 NBA Draft, which is viewed as one of the best draft classes in NBA history, as the Celtics hold the rights to the 5th overall pick in the draft. Rumors are flying around left and right, insiders are on the phone all day long, fans are excited/anxious, and the draftees are preparing for their moment of glory. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Coverage begins at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN with the 2007 NBA Pre-Draft Show, and the real deal is set to begin at 7:30. Let the good times roll!

The 2007 NBA Draft is less than a day away, but that’s not the only good news for Celtics fans. FSN (Fox Sports New England), who has been covering/broadcasting Boston Celtics basketball for the past 27 years, will be broadcasting all five of the Celtics’ 2007 Summer League games. The schedule is as follows:

July 6: vs. Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm ET)

July 9: vs. San Antonio Spurs (4:00 pm ET)

July 11: vs. Chinese National Team (10:00 pm ET)

July 13: vs. Milwaukee Bucks (8:00 pm ET)

July 14: vs. New York Knicks (4:00 pm ET)

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Celtics star Paul Pierce has spoken to the front office and has told them that if Danny Ainge doesn’t bring in a veteran star this week, he will publicly announce his desire to be traded. Also note that this came out just days after Pierce’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, told Chad Ford the same thing.

With this comes the good and the bad. The good news is that we may end up with another All-Star within the next 48 hours. Even if Pierce ends up being traded, there are good aspects of this notion. Pierce would finally be able to win elsewhere, we could further develop the youth and give players like Gerald Green big minutes, and most importantly, Danny Ainge will finally have to choose a direction.

Now, here’s the bad: Everybody’s favorite player has one foot out the door, the Celtics could be experiencing some internal issues, public reports about this is lowering Pierce’s trade value, and in the end Danny Ainge may make a “panic move” and either give up too much for a star or not get enough in return for Pierce.

If it were up to me, I would most definitely explore the possibility of trading Paul Pierce, and I’d make numerous phone calls around the league to get a feel for his value between now and the 11th hour. I would also be on the phones trying to bring in another All-Star, which would be my first choice, but it would be foolish not to explore a draft-day trade involving Pierce. If you want to trade Pierce, now may be a good time to do so with this extremely deep draft, and it would also be best to deal him before he publicly announces his desire to be traded.

If I was forced to make a prediction, I would predict that Ainge will make a move with Phoenix for Shawn Marion, which would not necessarily make me a very happy camper.

Check out our 2007 NBA Draft coverage at BballWorld.us. We have an updated mock draft, 39 detailed prospect profiles, draft history, and more. Check it out, and be sure to take a look at the forums!

Celtics General Manager Chris Wallace has packed his bags and headed south to Memphis. Wallace, who has been with the Celtics organization for the last decade, has accepted the General Manager position for the Memphis Grizzlies. Jerry West, who currently held Memphis’ President of Basketball Operations job, will be used as a team consultant through the draft, as his contract expires on June 30.

Center

1. Greg Oden (Ohio State)

• Could develop into one of the all-time great centers in the history of the game.

2. Spencer Hawes (Washington)

• A legitimate 7 footer with the ball skills of a wing.

3.  Tiago Splitter (Brazil)

• A 7 footer who can run the floor and play defense.

4. Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh)

• An excellent rebounder who can clog the lane with his massive size and good hands.

5. Sean Williams (Boston College)

• A freakish shot blocker with great athleticism, but is his head in check?

On the Bubble: Marc Gasol (Spain), Kyle Visser (Wake Forest)

Power Forward

1. Brandan Wright (North Carolina)

• A great athlete with great length, offensive skill, and a ton of potential.

2. Al Horford (Florida)

• A solid all-around basketball player on both ends, with soft hands, and a great work ethic.

3. Yi Jianlian (China)

• A 7 footer with a shooting touch and agility eye-popping for a man his size.

4. Joakim Noah (Florida)

• A passionate athlete with good defensive skills and leadership qualities.

5. Josh McRoberts (Duke)

• A forward with great all-around offensive talent and athleticism.

On the Bubble: Jason Smith (Colorado State), Herbert Hill (Providence), Nick Fazekas (Nevada)

Small Forward

1. Kevin Durant (Texas)

• A jaw-dropping talent with the potential to be the player of the century.

2. Corey Brewer (Florida)

• Great all-around talent with great defensive anticipation skills, length, and athletic ability.

3. Jeff Green (Georgetown)

• A good, athletic combo forward with the court vision of a guard.

4. Julian Wright (Kansas)

• An absolute jaw-dropping athlete with the ability to do literally everything on the court.

5. Al Thornton (Florida St.)

• Likely the second best scorer in this draft class, and a freak athlete.

On the Bubble: Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech), Alando Tucker (Wisconsin), Reyshawn Terry (North Carolina)

Shooting Guard

1. Nick Young (USC)

• An athletic swingman with the ability to score in many ways.

2. Marcus Williams (Arizona)

• A very versatile talent with the ability to play all three perimeter positions.

3. Arron Afflalo (UCLA)

• An outstanding perimeter defender and outside shooter who will be a great role player for a long time.

4.  Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington)

• An extremely explosive scorer with great quickness and athleticism.

5. Derrick Byars (Vanderbilt)

• An NBA-ready, defensive minded swingman with good ball skills and a long career ahead of him.

On the Bubble: Rudy Fernandez (Spain), Morris Almond (Rice), Marco Belinelli (Italy)

Point Guard

1. Mike Conley Jr. (Ohio State)

• A outstanding young floor general with the basketball IQ and poise of a veteran.

2. Acie Law IV (Texas A&M)

• A true leader and clutch performer who will carry his team to victory virtually single-handedly at the end of games.

3. Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech)

• A heady young guard with outstanding size, athleticism, and control.

4.  Gabe Pruitt (USC)

• An excellent shooter with good quickness and a great first step.

5.  Taurean Green (Florida)

• A smart player who can run a halfcourt offense and shoot the ball.

On the Bubble: Sean Singletary (Virginia), Petteri Koponen (Finland), Mustafa Shakur (Arizona), Dominic James (Marquette)

The pre-draft workouts continued today, as North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, Florida forward Joakim Noah, and Michigan center Courtney Sims displayed their skills in Waltham. Brandan Wright and his agent have come to an agreement which concludes that he will not compete against other players in workouts, it will all be individual showcasing. While Ainge didn’t want to comment on that, it’s clear that he would have preferred to see him against other competition. Ainge says “It’s tough to determine how workouts go when you don’t play against people. I’m not going to comment on that, that’s Brandan’s decision and his agent’s. That’s their strategy. It’s worked before and it hasn’t worked, so we’ll see.”

Joakim Noah and Courtney Sims, however, worked out against each other, as they were able to do some more competitive activities (such as 1-on-1). Aside from the individual workouts, Noah was also very impressed with what he has seen thus far of China prospect Yi Jianlian. “In terms of shooting the ball, having someone pass him the ball, rip through and dunk, [he was] very impressive. There’s no contest. But I don’t know how he’s going to react when someone trash talks him on the court…or when someone throws an elbow at him or something like that. I can’t judge that, but from what I saw, the way he handles the drills, he’s pretty impressive,” said Noah.

Ainge has stated in interviews that there are six players in the running for the fifth pick. Most speculate that those players are China forward Yi Jianlian, Florida forward Al Horford, Florida swingman Corey Brewer, Florida State forward Al Thornton, North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, and Georgetown forward Jeff Green. However, you can never be too certain. Others insist that Joakim Noah is on the list of possibilities, and that he fits the team needs of the Celtics. Only time will tell, as these young prospects will be playing their hearts out for the Celtics brass over the next two and a half weeks, as the 2007 NBA Draft nears.

On Thursday morning, the Celtics began their workout sessions for the 2007 NBA Draft with Florida swingman Corey Brewer, Florida State forward Al Thornton, Russian forward Nikita Shabalkin, and South Carolina forward Brandon Wallace. Celtics President of Basketball Oprerations Danny Ainge, and head coach Doc Rivers, also went to watch China forward Yi Jianlian’s individual workout in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Brewer and Thornton also stayed in Boston overnight to work out in Waltham for a second straight day, which was yesterday. Reports on day two of the workouts have yet to be released.

This is a whole season mix, but it also has plays that nobody else has in their Rondo/Celtics mixes. I put some underappreciated hustle plays and defensive plays. The music… I tried something a little different. I liked the beat to it, there’s no lyrics. Comments appreciated.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_wolAX8hinE