So what did we give up exactly?

As I wait for the preseason to get underway this weekend, and look at all of the renewed interest/buzz surrounding the Celtics, I can't help but think back to what was once considered the future of this franchise (which, ironically, now falls squarely in their past) ...

Jefferson. Green. Gomes. West. At one point, the mention of these names filled Celtics fans - well, not all fans (blogspot.com) - with a sense of optimism that the team was building a solid foundation that would eventually lead Boston back into title contention. Now, those same fans must turn their gaze westward, to Seattle and Minnesota, and let their thoughts linger to what might have been.

Now, I'm not telling you anything new by saying that fans will over-inflate the worth of "their" young players, the guys on the local team that they follow everyday ... While Celtics fans expected big things from the likes of Gerald Green, those who followed other (lesser) teams saw him as nothing more than that guy who wanted to jump over a slot machine during the Slam Dunk contest. It seemed so obvious to us that Al Jefferson was going to be the league's next great big man, and yet other members of the NBA landscape would say the same thing about the likes of Andrew Bynum or Andris Biedrins (who?).

So, I realize that not all fans/pundits/experts will share the same opinions on the Celtics' former young'uns that, say, you or I might hold ... still, had I really been fooling myself into investing so much faith into a bunch of "nobodies"?

According to Mitch Lawrence (nydailynews.com), I sure did!

[T]here is plenty of intrigue centering on Kevin Garnett's new team and Kobe Bryant's old club. After his summer of discontent, Bryant is expected to report tomorrow to media day in El Segundo, Calif., and then head with the team to training camp in Hawaii. He gave his word this past week to GM Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson that he is ready and willing to go.

For now, anyway.

It doesn't mean that Kobe has re-committed long-term or is thrilled to be back after demanding a trade and spending most of the offseason privately smoldering over the Lakers' lack of moves. He was hoping for Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal, at least, but their only key offseason addition was ex-Laker guard Derek Fisher. You think Tim Duncan and the Spurs are shaking in their sneakers over that one?

Minnesota VP Kevin McHale, an old Laker enemy, is still getting cursed out in the Lakers' front offices for giving up Garnett for next to nothing. (emphasis added)

"We lost out on the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes," Jackson said during his Hall of Fame enshrinement earlier this month. "Red Auerbach came out of the grave and told Kevin to give him to the Celtics so the Celtics can get back in the running. That was a blessing, that connection. We just didn't have the connection to make that happen for us."

While this slight of Jefferson and the boys might be easy to brush aside for some, I couldn't help recalling an article by Mark Heisler in the LA Times (latimes.com) from August 22nd (yes, that article's stuck in my craw for a good month and a half):

Understanding the sensibilities of USA Basketball and Nike, which sponsors the U.S. team as well as Bryant, Kobe has been low-key, trying to defuse the issue. . . while pointedly refusing to take anything back or rule out a holdout.

Just to cut to the chase, here's how he feels. He still wants out.

He finally figured out the Lakers wouldn't move him, no matter what he said, and settled down . . . only to watch in anguish as his beloved Kevin Garnett went to Boston. If the Celtics could land KG with nobody, why couldn't the Lakers? (emphasis added)

Can we just chalk up these journalistic barbs to ignorance of the Boston sports scene? Sour grapes, perhaps? I'm not sure, but it seems like a pretty big blow to the ego that the progress made by these young kids (and Gerald Green) could be so easily ignored by the NBA landscape at large.

Still, we have to look at the facts - as many All Star games as Al Jefferson may get to participate in the near-future, it's still all in the realm of possibility; nothing is written in stone yet. However, with KG, what you see is what you get - his resume is beyond reproach. Championship rings aside, you just can't compare his body of work with supposed "potential".

So, if you were to look at things objectively, you have to ask yourself: what have our young players been doing the last couple seasons?

Now, let me make it clear that this is not a slight on Al Jefferson, as it pains me to think of what he might accomplish in a Minnesota uniform ... but, we are putting a lot of stock into his production during 20-some games at the end of a lost season last year. Was it just a flash in the pan? Will the injury bug consistently rear its ugly head throughout his career?

Maybe Gerald Green is nothing more than Kedrick Brown with a jumper. Maybe Delonte West is too injury-prone to have a lengthy pro career. Maybe Ryan Gomes is less an All-Star caliber player and more a solid bench player on a championship-caliber team (which is one of the reasons why I really wish Ainge could've held firm and kept him out of the T-Wolves deal, as his talents could've finally been put to good use on our club instead of languishing out in Minnesota) ... Who knows?

The bottom line is that until Jefferson and Green lead the Timberwolves to an NBA title, or until Delonte West is at the head of a ticker-tape championship parade going down the streets of Seattle (or Oklahoma City or Las Vegas or wherever the Sonics end up), people have every right to call them "next to nothing" ... because that's pretty much all they did during their tenures in Boston. Sure, a 20-point/10-rebound night out of Big Al looks impressive, and that sick dunk by Gerald against the Raptors makes for good YouTube viewing, but - let's face facts - it didn't bring us any closer to an NBA championship. Perhaps it might have someday, but not anytime soon.

Again, I don't want to make it seem like I'm glad that those guys are gone, but it's all about perception - the Celtics were severely lacking in the wins department for awhile there, so the perception was that all of our players were awful. Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett is a big name and everyone already has his seat ready in the Hall of Fame, so the perception is that he immediately makes Boston championship-driven.

12 awful players = 1 Hall of Fame player

Honestly, I can't really blame "outsiders" for thinking these numbers just don't add up ...