The Celtics draft day deal for former Sonic Ray Allen put the team on the doorstep of the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference.

The July 31 deal for Kevin Garnett, which netted the Minnesota Timberwolves five players and two draft picks, puts the team firmly into the playoffs, but not as high as some people would like you to believe.

Yes, TD Banknorth Garden will be sold out for the next fine years -- Garnett signed a three-year extension on top of the two years left on his deal that will keep him in Beantown through the 2011-12 season.

Yes, the Celtics will be relevant for at least three of those five campaigns.

And, yes, the most storied franchise in the League, which hasn't raised a banner since "The Simpsons" was just a skit on "The Tracey Ullman Show," will be on opposing team's radars each time they play.

What they won't be, though, is title contenders.

The 31-year-old Garnett, 32-year-old Allen and Paul Pierce, 29, do make for an imposing trio. But what else is there after those three?

The Celtics acquired Garnett, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA MVP in 2004, from Minnesota in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first-round draft pick and a return of Minnesota's conditional first-round pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Sczerbiak  swap.

The Timberwolves also receive cash considerations in the deal. The 2009 pick Boston is sending to Minnesota is top-three protected.

Let's see: five players and two draft picks, which will admittedly be in the 16-21 range, for one guy. That's the largest deal for one player in League history.

Here's Boston's depth chart after the trade:

PG: Rajon Rondo, Allan Ray

SG: Ray Allen, Tony Allen

SF: Paul Pierce

PF: Kevin Garnett, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe

C: Kendrick Perkins, Michael Olowokandi

No depth. The Big Three makes the squad more than just a blip on the NBA radar, but nothing more.

Of the five players traded away, one averaged 33 minutes a night (Jefferson), and Gomes put in 31 minutes a game. Green and Telfair got more than 20 minutes of burn each night, and Ratliff played for than 20 minutes in the two games he suited up for. Delonte West and Sczerbiak, who were sent to Seattle in the Allen deal, averaged 30 minutes a game between them.

You'd think this would help the squad, what with head coach Doc Rivers' inability to magane playing time for a group, but now they have another problem.

Their top two point guards are gone. Danny Ainge traded away a promising front court player in Jefferson. And Boston will have to rely on Perkins and OlowoBusti to provide something in the post.

Unless Boston brass has some more deals up their sleeves -- maybe bringing in Brevin Knight to play the role he played in Charlotte behind Ray Felton until Rondo can be let loose, and/or bringing in Chris Webber, Anderson Varejao or Earl Boykins -- this is just a deal to make headlines.

Even though they were knocked out of the first round of the '07 playoffs, Toronto is still the class of the Atlantic Division. Bosh is a young Garnett, the Raptors have depth in the post and two capable quarterbacks in T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon.

The Pistons and Bulls are deeper and light years ahead of Boston on defense.

Oh, and there are those two guys who aren't going anywhere for a while: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

That's five teams I put ahead of Boston in the East. The other two East playoff teams are Milwaukee and Washington, and that all hinges on health.

So that puts Boston, after all its wheeling and dealing, sixth in the Eastern Conference.

I know big moves are the ones that garner the print and air time, but subtle tweaks bring home trophies.

So don't stitch that 17th banner just yet.

1. LeBron James finally has his sidekick.

At one point during Cleveland's series-clinching game six vs. Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James was barking at Daniel Gibson. But it wasn't for a mistake the Texas rookie made. It was because he caught fire in the last quarter and a half of the game on his way to 31 points on nine shots.

Gibson doesn't have to dominate the ball a la Larry Hughes or Lamar Odom. His performance the last three games of the ECF should help keep LeBron in Cleveland for the remainder of his career. Once injured rookie Shannon Brown gets healthy, Cleveland could have the League's scariest perimeter trio.

Either Brown, Gibson or James can handle the ball on a break. Either of the three could spot up anywhere on the floor and drain a shot. And any of the three can finish at the cup.

2. A shakeup is needed in Detroit.

There is a way for the Pistons to rebound from this loss and remain contenders for the next five, six years.

What Detroit needs to do is sign "that guy." That guy is a player who can get a team on the brink over the hump.

The Pistons have been defeated by a "that guy" prototype the past two playoff runs. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James both took over close games vs. Detroit and helped their teams advance to the finals.

Here's what Joe Dumars must do to keep his team on the map and in the title hunt:

Seriously look into a deal that would send Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant. No matter how much ESPN and NBA analysts want to give the League to Wade and James, those in the know recognize Bryant as the League's best player.

Dumars should also draft Texas point guard Acie Law IV and Pitt big man Aaron Gray with the 15th and 27th picks, respectively, in this month's draft. Billups, who did not earn a max deal with his performance in the Cleveland series, could serve as Law's mentor and you can't teach Gray's 7'2" frame.

Pairing Bryant with Tayshaun Prince, a great perimeter defender in his own right, would give Detroit something similar to what the Bulls used to employ with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen: one of the two would be on the floor at all times, to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player, and for the offense to run through either of them. I fully give Prince a pass for shooting under 30 percent during the Cleveland series since he had to put so much of his energy into defending James. But if you could switch Bryant and Prince off of James, and Wade, for example, neither would be so tuckered out on the other end of the floor that they couldn't get their points.

3. Leave Flip alone.

I still don't understand why Jason Maxiell barely saw action in five of the six games this series after scoring 15 points in game two. And I have no idea why Billups and Hamilton were put at the point of the zone Detroit employed. But I do believe that the Pistons' performance this series was not entirely the fault of their head coach.

Saunders could have called for quicker double teams of James at times, where the double could have came before James received the ball, but Saunders wasn't the one on the court looking for foul calls late in games. Neither was he the one pointing the finger at teammates at times.

If this were college, the brunt of the blame would be reserved for Flip. But this is the NBA. "A player's league," where the coach doesn't matter as much. Give Flip "that guy," and a core that doesn't play when it feels up to it, especially in the playoffs, and Saunders already has two finals appearances under his belt.

4. Spurs in five.

'Nuff said.

NBA Commissioner David Stern no longer has to worry about rating for the '07 Finals.

Cleveland's 109-107 win in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals pretty much punches the Cavs' ticket to San Antonio for next week's NBA Finals series.

LeBron James' performance through the fourth quarter and overtime punches his ticket into what some writers call "The Pantheon."

The Pantheon is that level that only great players reach. You know when it happens, too.

Magic's 42, 15 and 7 in game six of the 1980 Finals.

Michael's 69 and 18 boards in Cleveland in March 1989.

Dwyane Wade's 42 and 13 rips in game three of last year's Finals.

Add LeBron's 48 in 51 minutes of Cleveland's doubl-overtime win in game five to that list.

James had everything working Thursday night at the Palace. Deep stepback Js. Fadeaways. Drives to the cup. Everything was everything as the old guys say.

All NBA greats live by the same motto when it comes to the playoffs. "Get me to the fourth quarter and I'll bring it home."

James was Mariano Rivera circa 2001 Thursday. Through the fourth quarter and overtime, LeBron scored 29 of Cleveland's 30 points during that stretch. He went 11 of 14 from the field and hit 25 straight at one point.

But how does that happen? How does a team like the Pistons let one guy beat them?

Isn't Tayshaun Prince's rep based on stopping wing guys like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady? Wasn't the zone D Flip Saunders employed to stop James from driving to the hoop, which is exactly what James did to get the winning bucket?

Don't get it twisted. Changes need to be made after this series by both teams. Win or lose.

Mike Brown needs to be replaced. He uses timeouts like Herman Edwards. His substitution patterns make no sense.

Phil Jackson's first year as head coach in Chicago came the fall after Jordan hit the winning shot in the first round of the 1989 playoffs against Cleveland. I could hear Brown channeling his inner Doug Collins after Thursday's game at the podium.

"That was get the ball to LeBron and everybody else get the $^&* outta the way." 

Collins, Jordan's coach before Jackson, was gone by Labor Day.

Saunders is not the problem in Detroit. There needs to be some major roster shake-ups with this Pistons group. Chauncey Billups has played valiantly the last two games, but he has cost himself millions during this series. He's a bad match for LeBron, I know, but Rip Hamilton has been exposed as an on-the-ball defender. Rasheed Wallace floats in and out during games, and Chris Webber has given almost nothing.

Neither team stands a chance against the Spurs. I could be wrong, though. Nobody thought Detroit had a shot against L.A. in 2004, either.

San Antonio is businesslike on the court. The Spurs play their game and don't worry about their opponents. Cleveland could get one game, if James has a performance a la Allen Iverson in 2001, and the Pistons could possibly push the series to six games, if their heads are in all six.

But let's focus on the present.

James lived up to all the hype tonight.

Pantheon guys will their teams to victory. James might have just willed his squad to the NBA Finals.

I'm not going to make the obvious Michael Jordan reference after "The Chosen One's" two-point fourth quarter in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.

That would be an insult to the newly-single Mr. Jordan because Jordan's Bulls won his first-ever conference finals game, 94-88 in the Palace of Auburn Hills. You can't make the argument that Jordan's Bulls were better than LeBron's Cavs, either. World-class players like Dave Corzine and Brad Sellers played major minutes on that '89 Bulls squad.

Ok, I know he's only 22 years old. But he's been in the League four years now, and he's in the Final Four of his league. The game was set up perfectly for James to make his seven years of hype (I'm including his final three years of high school) justified.

Cleveland led for the entire first half. The Cavs were down just one on the road. Right before the fourth quarter started, I said to myself, "Ok. This is where it starts. LeBron only has eight points. He's going to end up with at least 20 and Cleveland is going to win this game."

It didn't happen. Two points in the fourth on his way to a career playoff low of 10 points. A lay up. That's it. Yes, LeBron's facilitation skills (nine assists) helped keep his squad close. They had a wide open look with 12 seconds lef that would've given them a one-point lead. But when LeBron went into the lane on Cleveland's last possession, he should have said, "F%ck this play. I'm dunking it and we're gonna win in OT." He had a dunk. James went right around Tayshaun Prince. Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace showed help, but neither got to the spot in time to stop what should have been a thunderous slam.

It's been said several times over the past two seasons. LeBron needs to become a selfish player at times in order to become a great player. Dwayne Wade wouldn't have gone 5-15. Neither would Kobe. Great players' teams live and die with them. Not with guys like Donyell Marshall and Anderson Varejao.

But it's not all on LeBron.

If Cavs brass could, I would suggest them firing Mike Brown before the Tuesday shootaround.

Cleveland went 1-10 from three-point range. Damon Jones has stayed in the NBA based on his three-point shooting. Daniel Gibson led the team, shooting 42 percent from three during the regular season. Those two played a combined five minutes.

Detroit double-teamed LeBron throughout the contest. Brown did nothing to get James in a position to get easy looks. Whatever he got, it would have had to be the result of LeBron going coast to coast or getting the ball as the point crossed half court.

Yes, the game was close. Yes, all the games in the series could be close. But if Brown doesn't put his team, and LeBron in particular, in a better position to win, this series will be over quick.

So will Mike Brown's tenure in Cleveland.

             It’s rare the fanbase of a team that had a high draft pick at the end of a season and won a title the following season would want to see a draft redone, but that’s exactly what Detroit Pistons fans have been clamoring for since David Stern walked up to the podium June 26, 2003, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden and uttered the now infamous words, “...the Detroit Pistons select...Darko Milicic....”

All I’ve heard from countless fans, who have seen the guys drafted around Darko become all stars, Olympians and contributors on playoff teams, is things like, “We coulda had (insert all-world player’s name here).”

Sure, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars had plenty of options with the pick, which the team got by way of a trade involving Otis Thorpe (!). His team just finished up a campaign where it won 50 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit had a solid backcourt (Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton), a blossoming swingman (Tayshaun Prince), a defensive beast in Ben Wallace and a bench that featured solid veterans (Corliss Williamson and Jon Barry).

What the Pistons needed was a four man to complete their starting lineup. They would acquire that power forward, but not through the draft. Detroit picked up Rasheed Wallace after the 2004 all-star break and rode its starters to the 2004 NBA title.

Two-and-a-half seasons later, Ben Wallace is in Chicago, Billups may opt out of his contract, Rasheed Wallace isn’t getting any younger and the bench is thin. This is where the Darko pick would come in handy, right? You’d think, in his fourth season, Milicic would have turned into a solid, nightly contributor in Motown, right? Well, Darko was traded, along with expendable point guard Carlos Arroyo, to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato (no longer with the Pistons), and a top-five protected 2007 draft pick or a top-two protected ’08 pick.

So let’s play a game of “what if.” The ’03 draft turned out to be one of the deepest in history, being mentioned in the same breath as the ’84 draft (Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton) and the ’96 draft (Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Jermaine O’Neal). Darko was the second pick on the ’03 edition of the draft. The second pick in the other star-studded drafts hasn’t panned out how GMs and owners hoped. Sam Bowie’s 10-year career was injury filled and Marcus Camby (selected number two by the Toronto Raptors in 1996) has turned into a serviceable big man, but not what Isiah Thomas hoped when he drafted him.

Waiting a few years to re-do or grade a previous draft is always a good idea, IMO. Who would have thought Josh Howard and Leandro Barbosa would have turned into stars after their rookie campaigns?

Number one in 2003 was a no-brainer. Cleveland was set to take LeBron James with the first selection. It gets interesting past that point, though, so we’ll start with the second pick. The draftees’ original spot is in parentheses.

1.      Cleveland Cavaliers — LeBron James (1), St. Vincent/St. Mary’s High School. Original pick: James

2.      Detroit Pistons — Chris Bosh (4), Georgia Tech.  A number of people have said Detroit should have taken Carmelo Anthony here, but the Pistons already had a small forward in Prince. Dwyane Wade may have fit here, too, but his minutes may have been minimal behind Hamilton and Billups. Many people have said Milicic didn’t display any passion or work ethic, which led to him not getting any burn. I think Bosh, Anthony and Wade would have earned some PT. Original pick: Darko Milicic

3.      Denver Nuggets — Dwyane Wade (5), Marquette. We all know Denver took Anthony in the spot four years ago. The 2006 Finals MVP could have worked out for the Nuggets, though. With the 46th pick, Denver could have chosen the undrafted Udonis Haslem, Wade’s teammate in Miami or the undrafted Marquise Daniels. Haslem has stayed healthy throughout his career, which is more than I can say for Nene. Haslem may have not commanded a $60 million deal the way Hilario did, either. Original pick: Carmelo Anthony

4.      Toronto Raptors — Carmelo Anthony (3), Syracuse. Could drafting Anthony have kept Vince Carter in Canada? We’ll never know, but this pick could have given the Raptors a wing tandem for the ages. Haslem was also still on the board when Toronto picked again at 52. Original pick: Bosh

5.      Miami Heat — Josh Howard (29), Wake Forest. The best defensive player on the list takes a huge jump from his original position. I don’t know if Howard would have led the Heat to the second round of the playoffs the way Wade did his rookie season, but Howard’s all-around, unselfish game would have meshed well with Shaq, assuming O’Neal would have still signed with the Heat. Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams was available at 33, as well. Original pick: Wade

6.      Los Angeles Clippers — Chris Kaman (6), Central Michigan. Kaman was selected here by the Clippers in the ’03 draft. He fit a need with the departure of former number one pick Michael Olowokandi. Kaman parlayed a couple solid seasons into a $50 million re-up before injuries put him on the shelf for much of the current season. Original pick: Kaman

7.      Chicago Bulls — Kirk Hinrich (7), Kansas. Hinrich was originally selected here by the Bulls in 2003. The Jayhawk fit a need after ’02 pick Jay Williams pulled a Rothlesberger before you could call it that. Hinrich has been a key cog in the Bulls’ resurgence, helping lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Original pick: Hinrich

8.      Milwaukee Bucks — T.J. Ford (8), Texas. Ford was selected here by Milwaukee and fit a need following the departure of Sam Cassell to Minnesota and Gary Payton to the Lakers. Ford was having a solid rookie campaign (7.1 ppg, 6.5 apg) before he suffered a neck injury. Ford was traded to Toronto for Raptors 2006 lottery pick Charlie Villanueva. Ford has piloted Toronto to the top of the Atlantic division and the three-seed in the Eastern Conference. Original pick: Ford

9.      New York Knicks — David West (18), Xavier. The 6’9,” 240-pound West had a quiet first two years with the Hornets, but West had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field. Yes, I’m sure having Chris Paul helped, but West seems like a hard worker who’ll do anything to make it in the League. Original pick: Michael Sweetney

10.  Washington Wizards

11.  Golden State Warriors

     Either of these spots could have gone to two players: Boris Diaw (21) and Luke Walton (32). Diaw couldn’t get off the bench in Atlanta, yet he has been a major part of a Phoenix team that has re-introduced “Showtime” to the masses, even garnering Most Improved Player honors at the end of the 2005-06 season. Starting at center for Phoenix that season in the playoffs, Diaw averaged 18.7 points, 6.7 boards and 5.2 assists. Walton has blossomed into one of the better all-around young players in the league. His adept passing skills have been put on display in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. In 48 games this season, Walton has more than doubled his career scoring (5.1 to 11.4 ppg), and assists per game averages (2.3 to 4.5). The original picks in these slots, Jarvis Hayes and Michael Pietrus, have shown flashes at time, but haven’t played at the level of Diaw and Walton. Original picks: Jarvis Hayes (Wash.) and Michael Pietrus (GSW)

12.  Seattle Supersonics — Udonis Haslem, Florida. I considered slotting Darko here, but Seattle has had a pension to take ####ers the last few years (Reggie Evans, trading for Chris Wilcox). Haslem went undrafted in 2003, after playing overseas in 2002, but has worked his way into the starting PF spot in South Beach for the foreseeable future. Haslem isn’t flashy, but he’s a big body who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the post. It also helps that he can hit an 18-foot jumper consistently. Original pick: Nick Collison

13.  Memphis Grizzlies — Leandro Barbosa, Brazil. As of March 27), Barbosa is averaging 17.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 32.4 minutes per game. Barbosa is widely considered at the favorite to wint he Sixth Man of the Year award. The speedy Barbosa could start on a number of teams, but he’s happy with his role in Phoenix. Ironically, one of his teammates, Marcus Banks, was selected in this spot originally. Banks rarely sniffs the court in Phoenix. Original pick: Marcus Banks

Yes, the fortunes of a number of teams could have been changed had the draft when as I see it. But, hey, hindsight is 20/20. Can you imagine a lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Bosh? The Chris Webber deal would have been uncalled for, or Webber would have been relegated to a sixth man role. Now, Detroit has to worry about losing its starting power forward and center in a year or two. I can see Piston fans using old battery acid for eyedrops.

But they’re not the only people I’m worried about. With the number of second overall picks that have done squat in the League (Bowie, Steve Stipanovich and Milicic come to mind), I’m going to say a prayer for both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on draft night.

Sorry, Brendan Wright.