The franchise that tried to tank for Tim Duncan and Greg Oden/Kevin Durant started the season once again in the middle of a rebuilding season for a future star. They traded away two of their three best players, hired a rookie head coach without previous NBA experience, and their best player has sat out the first two months of the season recovering from a torn ACL. Where has that left them? Second place in the Atlantic Division and a shot at home court advantage in the playoffs.

The Good: The Boston Celtics have gone from tanking to rebuilding on the fly as they managed to rejuvenate their roster with young, inexpensive players while adding a plethora of future draft picks - including four first round picks from the Brooklyn Nets and one first round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers – which allows them tremendous flexibility going forward. Credit for this belongs to Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge. While Ainge’s plan was clearly to tank (most likely for Jabari Parker), his hiring of Stevens, along with his refusal to accept long-term contracts in any deals – with the exception of Gerald Wallace – has allowed this team to stay relevant and on the fast track for rebuilding.

The Bad: The Celtics are exceeding all expectations this season. But if you look at their roster, who is a long-term solution at his position? Rondo could leave through trade or free agency – he tasted winning too early in his career and has no patience for a rebuild. Jordan Crawford has been a revelation this season, and while he’s very talented, does anyone believe he can be the starting point guard on a contender? Didn’t think so. Beyond that, they have nice pieces in Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, and even Kelly Olynyk. But who among those is an All-Star or a building block? In a related issue, of the nine guys playing fifteen minutes or more per game on this team, five are power forwards. Can that be the case on a contending team?

The Fix: According to Jared Wesiss of CLNSRadio in Boston, Danny Ainge is still determined to have this team lose. Shedding useable players – including Rondo – seems inevitable with such a deep draft. I don’t like this strategy. Stevens is clearly special as a coach and somehow has this team playing together and playing well. If you’re determined to improve your odds in the draft, trade a few of the lesser guys (Brandon Bass, Kris Humphries, Marshon Brooks) for a draft pick or another player that fits this team and could contribute – preferably a guard – and see how far this team can go. If they do insist on trading Rondo, do not trade him without including Gerald Wallace’s outlandish contract.