Now... brace yourselves, because I'm going to say something that will raise the ire of all true Celtics fans out there.  But before you attack the bejeezus out of me, let me throw my disclaimer out there:  I'm just brainstorming -- I'm not necessarily saying that I believe what I'm about to write.  In the words of Ron Burgandy, "I'm gonna put it out there; if you like it, you can take it, if you don't, send it right back."

Anyway, we all know that KG has been out with his strained oblique.  We also know how well the C's have been playing without him.  Now, I don't mean to imply that they've been as good sans KG as with him... because they haven't.  I'm just saying that our non-Big Three talent may be better than even we (who have had a recent tendency to overrate our players) imagined.

A few games after KG got hurt the gears in the ol' noggin started churning.  "This is what our team would be like if we never made the KG trade," I thought to myself.  But, no, it wouldn't... we'd have another man patrolling the paint.  You may remember him as Al Jefferson.  Former fan favorite at the Garden.  Absolute beast in the low-post.  Yeah, that guy.

Without rehashing the amazing rollercoaster ride that was the Celtics' offseason, we had a few chips fall into place post-KG trade (mainly the signings of Posey and Eddie House) which have paid huge dividends thus far.  There's a better-than-good chance that those deals may not have gone down had we not pulled the trigger on KG.  Also, our roster would have been overflowing with players leaving us little to no room to sign anybody.

But the real reason I'm bringing all this up isn't because I don't think we should've traded Big Al for KG (obviously that was a good trade) -- but had we not jumped on that opportunity, there may have been another had we just waited.   And yes, I'm talking about Pau Gasol.

There has been a loud and noticeable outcry across the NBA that is still echoing after the Lakers traded a big steaming bucketful of turds for Gasol.

“What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension,” said Popovich. “There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense. I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I’d like to elect myself to that committee. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade.”

Now, here's what the Lakers gave up:  Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol and first round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Had we not traded KG we could've put together a far more compelling offer than that.  We had Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Telfair, First Round draft picks, Kendrick Perkins, Gabe Pruitt etc.  We could've given them far more value and not even had to throw Jefferson's name in the discussion.

Plus, we could've robbed the Grizzlies for their best player and our critics could've used the same anti-Boston argument about one of our own doing us a favor and handing us talent for nothing.   Hell, Chris Wallace had screwed us over so many times he'd owe that trade to us.  It'd just be good business.

Anyway, I'm going to take a lot for granted here... but had things gone down differently this past offseason, and had we pulled off a Gasol trade, our team could resemble something like this:

 C:  Gasol
PF: Jefferson
SF: Pierce
SG: Allen
PG: Rondo
Bench:  Perkins, Powe, Davis, Allen, House, Scalabrine and Pruitt?

Now, what I'd like to know is... would you rather have a roster like that than the one we currently have?

Please, don't blast me and call me ungrateful and all that other good stuff... this is meant to be a fun what-if!?

So, what say you -- KG or Gasol and Big Al?