Over the next 4 days, we are going to read all sorts of breakdowns of potential first round matchups.  From the C’s point of view, everyone will have an opinion about whether they match up better against the Knicks, or the 76ers.  We will hear why one team will be an easier out than the other, and why one team could give them a "scare", much like the Hawks did in 2008, or the Bulls in 2009.

So, rather than subjecting you to my incredibly amateur analysis, I am taking a different view of this first round series, because frankly, I don’t think it matters which matchup is scarier.  Both matchups have positives and negatives from a basketball standpoint, so from an X’s and O’s point of view, they cancel each other out.

From a fans point of view, however, I think there is only one way to go.  We all know about the New York vs. Boston rivalry, in just about every sport.  But, while it has grown to comical proportions in Baseball, and to a lesser extent Football, over the last 20 years or so, this rivalry has been dormant in the NBA.  When the Knicks were good, the C’s were terrible, and vice versa…until this year.

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With Tony Allen going to Memphis, and other wings that have been rumored to be targets of the C’s, such as JJ Redick, Ronnie Brewer, and Mike Miller coming off the market in the last week, it feels like a little bit of panic has been surging through Celtics Nation. Will the C’s be stuck with nothing?  Will our backup wings be Avery Bradley and Michael Finley?  Will Paul Pierce and Ray Allen be forced to play too many minutes next season, and be run into the ground like when the C’s failed to replace James Posey in 2008-2009?

Well, I am here to hopefully bring at least a little hope.  While a lot of targets have come off the board in the last couple of weeks, there are still plenty out there.  So let’s take a closer look at who the C’s could be looking at…

First, I want to make one assumption.  Let’s assume that the Danny Ainge is correct, and Rasheed Wallace IS going to retire, which allows the C’s to use his contract in a trade.  This of course, would be a very valuable trade piece, because it would allow the Celtics to send it to another team, for a contract within 125% +$100,000 of Sheed’s deal.  And the team trading for Sheed would then be able to take that salary (minus a likely buyout for his troubles) off the books, giving them immediate savings…which is especially valuable for teams who may be close to the luxury tax threshold. Sheed’s cap hit for 2010 is reportedly $6,322,320. 

So, with this, highly valuable asset, here are some targets the C’s might look at picking up, broken into a couple categories.

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