It was quite a decade for Celtics fans. While we've enjoyed a great deal of success over the past few seasons, lets not forget the misery we endured for the first seven years of the decade.
Here's my list of the worst Celtics moments in the 2000s. If you agree or disagree, let us know in the comments.
10. The Vin Baker Trade – July 2002*
The Celtics acquired the former Univ. of Hartford star and Shammond Williams for Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko and Joe Forte. At the time, Baker was coming off two subpar seasons and had 4 years, $50 million remaining on his contract. Baker struggled mightily with alcohol and weight issues. He was released in 2004.
9. Rick Pitino's Rant – March 2000
"Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk
through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is
young, exciting, hard-working, and we're going to improve. People don't
realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not
coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us
because there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their asses
off. I wish we had $90 million under the salary cap, I wish we could buy the world. We can't; the only thing we can do is
work hard, and all the negativity that's in this town sucks. I've been
around when Jim Rice was booed. I've been around when Yaz was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in
the world, lousy. The only thing that will turn this around is being
upbeat and positive like we are in that locker room… and if you think
I'm going to succumb to negativity, you're wrong. You've got the wrong
guy leading this team."
The exclamation point on Pitino's crappy tenure in Boston.
8. Red Auerbach Dies – Oct 2006
The
patriarch of the Celtics franchise dies of a heart attack at age 89.
His resume is unmatched – 9 championships, 938 victories, the drafting
of Larry Bird and the deal that brought Robert Parish and Kevin McHale
to Boston. It's a shame Red didn't get to enjoy the 2008 championship.
7. Tony Allen's Knee Injury – Jan 2007
Tony
was enjoying the best season of his career before shredding his knee on a dunk
attempt after the whistle. He was averaging 20 points and 5 rebounds
per
game in the month of Jan. He hasn't been the same since.
6. The Joe Johnson Trade – Feb 2002
Celtics
GM Chris Wallace ships the rookie Johnson (along with Randy Brown, Milt
Palacio and first round pick) to Phoenix for Rodney Rogers and Tony
Delk. It was a decent trade at the time, since Rogers and Delk helped
the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals. But that team was
blown up a year later, while Johnson went on to become one of the games
top shooting guards.
5. The Antoine Walker-for-Raef LaFrentz Trade – Oct 2003
Unhappy with Antoine's style of play, Danny Ainge moved the brash young forward (along with Tony Delk) to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Raef LaFrentz, Chris Mills, Jiri Welsh and a first round draft pick. During his three seasons in Boston, LaFrentz earned $28 million while averaging just 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds.
4. The 2001 Draft
With three first round picks, Chris Wallace selects Joe Johnson, Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte. While Johnson became a star, Brown and Forte turned out to be gigantic busts. Wallace passed on Tony Parker, Gerald Wallace, Brendan Haywood, Troy Murphy and Richard Jefferson.
3. Kevin Garnett's Knee Injury – Feb 2009
Hopes of repeating as champs faded as Kevin Garnett injured his right knee in a game against the Jazz. The mystery surrounding the extent of the injury further complicated the situation. KG made a brief return during the regular season, but he was unable to suit up in the playoffs. The Celtics were ousted from the conference semis by the Orlando Magic.
2. The 18-game losing streak – Jan/Feb 2007
The lowest point of an embarrassing 24-win season. When the Celtics beat the Bucks on February 15, 2007 to snap the franchise record losing streak, the home crowd gave them a standing ovation.
1. Paul Pierce Gets Stabbed – Sept 2000
On September 25, 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck,
and back and had a bottle smashed over his head while at a Boston nightclub. Amazingly, he returned to play all 82-games that season. If Pierce doesn't survive that attack, who knows what would have happened to the franchise this decade.
* Editor's Note – This list has been altered since its initial publication. Vin Baker has replaced John Carroll as the 10th Worst Moment.
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