Rewind to 2007. A roster that featured Paul Pierce, young Al Jefferson and Tony Allen and a rookie Rajon Rondo and not much else finished dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 24-58 record. So, how did the Boston Celtics win the NBA championship the very next year? There's a few reasons.
With the second worst record in the league, Boston was in line for the No. 2 pick in the upcoming draft. The No. 2 prospect that year? Texas Longhorns talent Kevin Durant — a prospect the Celtics reportedly liked very much. Instead, Boston's fell to No. 5 and ended up selecting Georgetown Hoyas wing Jeff Green.
Coming off his ninth season, there were reports that Celtics star Paul Pierce — who just averaged 25.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists — was hesitant to stay in Boston if he didn't get some help.
Rather than building through the draft, Celtics GM Danny Ainge took a risk and sent Green, starting point guard Delonte West and veteran Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Sonics star Ray Allen and No. 35 pick Glen Davis.
Although it was reportedly Allen and Shawn Marion, the Celtics pulled the trigger on the Sonics 31-year-old sharpshooter who just came off a season where he averaged a career-best 26.4 points a game. Paul Pierce finally had some established help, but Ainge wasn't done yet.
Just one month later, a third star would be added to the mix. Ainge and the Celtics agreed to a deal that would send a promising young center in Jefferson, as well as Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and a first round pick in exchange for 2004 NBA MVP Kevin Garnett.
Originally, in earlier negotiations, Garnett refused to play in Boston, but after the Celtics addition of Allen, Garnett's willingness to sign with Boston changed.
Now the Celtics had a trio of All-Stars, but lost a lot of their key role players and young talent. They would have to fill out a bench full of unproven talent and cheap veterans. So that's what they did.
Boston would sign free agent small forward James Posey away from Miami with a two-year deal worth $6.67 million; and veteran point guard Eddie House would agree to a one year deal worth $1.5 million. Both would provide a strong veteran presence for the Celtics in bench roles.
Other than Posey and House, Boston would have to develop the unproven, young talent on their roster
In his 2006-07 rookie season, center Leon Powe was the fourth-string option behind Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Brian Scalabrine.
Now forced into a bigger role, Powe would provide valuable minutes as a back up big man putting up 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per night.
23-year-old center Kendrick Perkins would become Boston's starting center and develop into a tough-nosed defensive anchor for the Celtics.
Perhaps most importantly, after a solid rookie season, Rondo was the perfect complimentary piece for a team with three All-Stars. The former No. 17 overall pick would impress with his defense and playmaking, averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds as the team's starting point guard.
The Celtics roster consisted of three All-Stars now entering their 30's, a few veteran pieces and young players still trying find a place in the league, but they made it work.
Head coach Doc Rivers and the 2008 Boston Celtics would go on to beat their rival Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, bringing the franchise their 17th championship and the first in over two decades.
To many, the '08 Celtics were the first modern superteam. To be fair, they ended the season with the top defensive rating in the league, the highest net rating since the 1996-97 Bulls and won 42 more games than they did the year before — another NBA record.
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