Wow.

Yeah, read that line a few times before you move onto the story. Kevin Garnett a Celtic? Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and KG in green? It’s a storyline that seemed unfathomable a mere couple months ago, after the Celts where dealt what seemed like a major blow in their crappy lottery luck. But now? After getting shafted, after a miserable season in which their play matched the direction that the franchise seemed to be going in, the youthful, irrelevant Celtics have just molded themselves into playoff mainstays. Pierce. Allen. KG. That is one hell of a trifecta.

The naysayers will be quick to point out that a trade for KG would be mortgaging a future the Celts have spent a while trying to build. I hate that logic. Why? Because no team in sports wants to be good four years down the road, while mortgaging off their entire fan base as they sit through meaningless year after meaningless year.

The Celtics are a franchise that needs to be relevant. This trade is beyond huge for them. It’s unbelievable. Instead of a long rebuilding process with Jeff Green, the Celts have Ray Allen. Instead of waiting for Al Jefferson to become great, along with a few other young players, the guys in green are about to land The Big Ticket. In Boston, the Celts are about to become the tough ticket in town.

People want a winner. This team will win. They won’t have a bench (not at least as of now with their current roster), but people will want to come to Boston. With a foundation finally laid down in place, and a contract extension in the works for Garnett, the Celts are giving themselves a good 3-4 year window to potentially be great.

Reread that one more time. Great.

Not good. Great. Not respectable. A potential powerhouse.

This threesome isn’t quite Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker, and none of them have a ring, but man, find another tripod close and you’re pushing it. Well, Nash, Marion and Stoudemire are pretty damn good, but still, in the East, where the going’s good for teams like Cleveland, Boston instantly becomes a favorite.

Boston a favorite? What????

An unbelievable off season of torture, has turned into the luck of the irish for Celts fans, who probably won’t be devastated to replace Jefferson with KG. Yeah, one is much younger and most likely will be an impact player longer then KG at his current age, but it doesn’t matter.

In sports you can’t bank on a bunch of young guys reaching their full potential and coming together as a team. You can build teams year after year through the draft and watch nothing happen (kind of like the Clips did for years). When you bring in two proven superstars in one offseason, to surround another great player in Pierce, you are giving yourself a great chance to do something. Something of which wasn’t assured with Boston’s once rebuilding plan.

So let’s size this nearly-completed trade up, and how it affects the makeup of their division as well as the east (Keep in mind the Celtics finished dead last in the East last season, so this is going in order based on last season’s finishes.

14. Milwaukee: Young team, not a threat anytime soon for the division, and a long shot to make the playoffs this year. Michael Redd is a great player playing with a bunch of pieces that don’t really fit all that well.

13. Atlanta: Want to look at teams rebuilding? Look at the Hawks who have been rebuilding forever now. Horford and Acie Law will come in and contribute, but Atlanta is a ways away from being a factor. Joe Johnson still happy you took the money over the Suns?

12. New York: Knicks are an interesting team. They made a potentially great move in trading for Zach Randolph, who along with Eddie Curry make a nice little 1-2 punch. Could be a playoff team, but still a few pieces from contending in the East.

11. Charlotte: Let’s face it: Richardson is a nice addition, but they’re in slow mo with this team and they’re still 2-3 years away from being relevant.

10. Philadelphia: Biggest question facing the Sixers: Was last season’s surprisingly strong finish after the AI trade a fluke, or was it a sign that this team can thrive without it’s Answer?

09. Indiana: A really weird team. Where is Jermaine O’Neal in their plans? Are they trading him? Keeping him? Rebuilding? Reloading? What’s going on in Hoosier-ville?

08. Orlando: Adding Rashard Lewis was a good move. Adding him for $118 million? An unbelievable waste of money. Just give it time: he’s a good player, not a great one, and certainly not a franchise star like that money would make one think.

07. Washington: Solid team, that was killed by injuries last season. They’re good, but not a threat just yet.

06. New Jersey: Very talented team who has yet to show they can make the next step. Can Carter eventually break his playoff woes and get this team moving past the second round?

05. Chicago: Solid team, young team, and still a few pieces away. The Bulls have a lot of potential these next few seasons, but Wallace is getting up there in years and do they make a run at Kobe? They need a down low presence who can score, and Noah ain’t it.

04. Miami: Honestly, your guess is as good as mine about this team. They’re old, they’ve yet to make a big move, they lost Kapono in free agency, but they do have one thing going for them: they still have Wade. Whether he can stay healthy or not is the big question. And then there’s Shaq…

03. Toronto: Very good young team, but they must be cursing themselves. The year after they get the tall Italian with the first pick in a no name draft, Oden and Durant along with a loaded draft class come along the year later. Tough break.

02. Cleveland: Worst finals team ever? They didn’t look like they belonged on the same court as the Spurs. That said, if they can find a second option (WHO’S RELIABLE) they can be a power in the East for years to come.

01. Detroit: Still the best team in the East for now, but they’re getting older. Rumors of a team breakup never happened, and so for now they still lead the east, but this trade makes that margin slimmer then ever.

(So where do the Celts fit in? After all, Garnett has never had much playoff success, and neither has Allen really for that matter. Doesn’t matter: the Celtics instantly vault into the top echelon of the East with this roster. It will be interesting to see how the Celts choose to fill out their bench. But make no mistake about it: the Celts are making a statement, and the NBA better watch out. Amazing move Danny Ainge. Sheer brilliance.)