"You missed your window, Ted. You blew it."

Ah, yes. That line from 'There's Something About Mary' pops into my head whenever I start thinking of the current state of the Celtics. It's not that the Celtics have turned into the 'roller-pig'. Not by any means. But, when an opportunity presents itself - like hooking up with Cameron Diaz when she was somewhat hot - you don't pass on it. And, having seen it before in the late-80s/early-90s - with Bird, McHale, and Parish - I am hoping that the Celtics don't make the same mistake twice by hanging on to the New Big Three until they become The Too Old Three. I'm not advocating dumping Ray Allen's contract just for the sake of dumping it. And I highly doubt that Danny the Great would do that either. But, it's no secret that Allen's expiring deal is one of the finer trading chips that will (hopefully) be available during the off-season.

"You're not that far ahead, Ted."

Back in the late 80s, when The Big Three were becoming less "big", the Celtics received trade offers from teams trying to pry one, or more, of them away. Teams were offering younger players for that chance, but the Celtics organization declined to break up the trio. We all know how that turned out. Not only did the Celtics never make it to the NBA Finals with them after 1987, but they made only one more Conference Finals appearance- in 1988. The ages of the Big Three in 1988? Bird was 32. McHale was 31. And Parish was nearly 35. The ages of the New Big Three on Opening Night, 2009? Paul Pierce will be 32. KG will be 32. And Ray Allen will be 34.

"Frank and Beans"

As much as we may want them to stay together, the truth is that if you can get younger, and possibly better, by cashing in one of those chips, you do it. The recent rumor of Stoudemire and Barbosa coming to Boston is a prime example of such an opportunity. While this deal probably has little chance of happening as rumored, it is exactly the type of deal that the Celtics should be looking for. And I believe that an Allen/Rondo package is a likely possibility. We know about Allen's expiring deal, and the type of player the Celtics could get in return for it. Now, add Rondo into the mix, and the scenario becomes even better. I love Rondo, and will be happy if he's still here for the next 6 or 7 years. But, reason #1 why a deal like this should be considered is that there are rumors that he's looking for a max-type deal. Problem is, he's not a max-deal player yet. One has to look no further than the Orlando series. The Magic left him unguarded out on the perimieter, daring him to beat them. He couldn't. While there's some that think he'll eventually develop a legit jumpshot, he could just as easily not develop one. That's reason #2 they should consider packaging him. And reason #3 is simple - his value is at it's peak right now.

"7-minute abs"

So, what do you do if you're Danny Ainge? If the Suns call and offer you Stoudemire, Barbosa, and the 14th pick for Allen and Rondo, do you take it (assuming Stoudemire's eye is okay)? It's a tough scenario, because I would think that as part of the deal, an extension would have to be in place for Stoudemire, since he can opt for free agency in '10. If that could happen, I think you pull the trigger and roll the dice. The Celtics would have a front court of Pierce, KG, and Stoudemire, with Perkins coming off the bench playing 30 minutes/game. Here's a possible starting lineup, with some luck:

• PG - Andre Miller
• SG - Ramon Sessions
• SF - Paul Pierce
• PF - KG
• C - Stoudemire

Yes, the Celts would be thin at the 1 and 2. But, SGs are a dime a dozen, and teams have proven they can win, and win a lot of games, without a marquee PG (Lakers, Magic, Cavs). Not to mention that the draft is full of potential starting PGs, and it wouldn't surprise me if Ainge had his eye on one. It wouldn't be the first time.