Celtics need to stir up trade winds; Experienced talent needed here, not more young draft selections.

Byline: Bill Doyle

Greg Oden is overrated, and Kevin Durant is a bad kid.

Isn't it time for the Celtics to spread such rumors now that neither of the fabulous frosh will play for them next season?

"I was thinking about that," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, "but I want to be honest."

The honest truth is the Celtics must do something drastic to become a contender in the NBA and relevant in the minds of sports fans.

Drafting Yi Jianlian isn't going to accomplish that.

After the Celtics took the fifth in the NBA Lottery Tuesday night, Danny Ainge, executive director of basketball operations, admitted that ideally he'll package that fifth pick in a trade for a veteran. Even with Sebastian Telfair on his way out of Boston after being found with another gun, the Celtics still have other nine players on their roster who will be 25 or younger entering next season. They do not - repeat - do not need another young player who requires time to develop. Rest assured that captain Paul Pierce feels that way.

Oden is only 19 and Durant 18, but they're talented enough to contribute right away and are expected to eventually lead their teams deep into the playoffs. The same can't be said for anyone else available for the NBA Draft on June 28. Not Yi, not Brandan Wright, not Al Horford, not Corey Brewer, not Julian Wright, not Al Thornton.

So Ainge needs to swing a Joe Barry Carroll for Robert Parish and Kevin McHale type of deal. The problem is that Ainge is much better at drafting youth than trading for experience. He dealt the No. 7 pick in last year's draft and ended up with only Telfair, who dropped to third string, and a washed-up Theo Ratliff, who played just two games because of a bad back. He has also traded for Wally Szczerbiak, who is clearly past his prime, and signed Brian Scalabrine as a $15 million bench warmer.

On the other hand, Ainge has done well in drafting Al Jefferson 15th, Delonte West 24th, Tony Allen 25th and both Ryan Gomes and Leon Powe in the second round. The jury is still out on Gerald Green as an 18th pick.

The fifth pick could be packaged with the remaining year on Ratliff's contract worth $11.7 million and any other Celtic to make it work. At this point, even Pierce and Jefferson can't be considered untouchable, but it's unlikely the Celtics will part with either of them.

The Celtics need a point guard. Ohio State freshman Mike Conley Jr. is the best available, but he's simply too inexperienced. Pierce would love for Ainge to acquire Golden State's Baron Davis, whom he grew up with in L.A., but the Warriors are in no hurry to part with him after he led them to an upset of Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. He's due to earn $16.4 million next year and $17.2 million the year after. The Celtics can finally write long-gone Vin Baker off their ledger after paying him $5.3 million last year, but they'll have to re-sign Jefferson, Green, Allen, West, Gomes and Rajon Rondo over the next year or two.

Conspiracy theorists wondered if the NBA fixed the lottery to punish Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee, the three worst teams, for tanking games. That's hogwash. If the NBA were going to fix the lottery, it would have steered Oden or Durant to Boston, a large television market with basketball tradition. Instead, they'll be hidden in the Pacific Northwest.

"You'll have to stay up late to watch them play," Rivers said.

The silver lining in Oden and Durant heading to Portland and Seattle is twofold for the Celtics. They will have to face them only twice a year, and neither will strengthen an Eastern Conference team that will battle the Green for a playoff spot.

Tommy Heinsohn can't be blamed for the Ping-Pong balls not bouncing Boston's way and dashing the franchise's hopes for a 17th NBA championship for a while, but the karma may have been better if John Havlicek had represented the Celtics in Secaucus. Havlicek not only graduated from Ohio State - Oden's school - he wore No. 17 for the Celtics.

So after pulling out their hair the past 10 years over losing out on Tim Duncan in the lottery, Celtics fans will have Oden and Durant to haunt them for the next decade. Unless one of them becomes a free agent and signs with Boston, that is.

"As good as those two guys are going to be," Rivers said, "and I believe they're going to be great players, that still doesn't mean they're going to be rookies of the year. That could come from the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth pick. I believe we could be one of those teams with that pick."

They'd better be.

If healthy, the Celtics should improve next season, but not enough to do damage in the playoffs with their current roster. So Ainge and Rivers face tougher jobs after Tuesday night. So does Celtics president Rich Gotham, who acknowledged the team will take at least a short-term hit in ticket sales.

"Maybe for two days," Gotham said. "I think we'll have a little bit of a natural letdown."

On the other hand, Gotham said season ticket renewals were well ahead of this time last year and new sales had tripled. Gotham expects another kick in sales as the draft approaches.

A well-received trade would work even better.

NAME: BOSTON CELTICS

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: FILE PHOTO

CUTLINE: Coach Doc Rivers says the Boston Celtics can still draft an impact player with the fifth overall pick.