Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Rebirth Of Paul?

After a month off from blogging there's still not a lot to report, except for yesterday's mega-deal sending Kevin Garnett to the Celtics, which coupled with the draft day acquisition of Ray Allen could bring long-suffering Paul Pierce back into the NBA spotlight.

Some are saying that the trade immediately makes Boston a front-runner, if not THE front-runner, in the East. Now, almost every Eastern team in contention (Cleveland, Chicago, Miami and the Celts) features a KU alum. And keep in mind that Pierce's old KU frontcourt companion Raef Lafrentz also gained a valuable new teammate in Greg Oden, who joins him on the Trailblazers (where Kevin Pritchard is an exec).

So is it now a virtual lock that a Jayhawk will reach the Finals three years running? Maybe.

However, I have to say I'm lukewarm on the Celtics' prospects. After all they gave up to nab Garnett, they only have like 8 guys left on their roster and not much money left for more signings. Besides, who on that team is going to play any defense? They should be a lot of fun to watch next season, but I'll be surprised if they reach the Finals.

And the Blazers? Give them a few years...