What Now?

For years, it has been woefully mismanaged, to the point that someone else should probably take over. Once a proud, vibrant, entity, that former glory is gone, seemingly gone forever. Banking on a stroke of good luck didn't work out, leaving it with nothing but hard times ahead.

You think I'm talking about Fitchburg, don't know?

Nope. I've slept on it, and I still can't get over what happened to the Boston Celtics -- wait, Boston Celtic fans -- last night.

You probably weren't paying much attention last night, hell the Sox were choking the life out of Yanks at the same time, but the NBA held its draft lottery last night. The next five years of the Celtics was held hostage by a drum full of ping-pong balls.

As post-1980 Celtic draft history has proven, there is no luck there for the Celtics. Following in the footsteps of Len Bias (literally dead on arrival), Reggie Lewis (dead just as he was hitting his prime), the 1997 draft (Rick Pitino, dead on arrival) and now, why would the Celtics ever think the draft would go their way in any significant way?

But they did. They dragged fans through three months of bad, losing basketball, with the hopes of grabbing one of the top two picks. They finished fifth. See you in Secaucus next year.

Instead of instant hope (and probably 45-50 wins next year), the Celtics will spin their wheels in the mid-30s. Do you trust Danny Ainge to make a significant move (and would the Globe stop with the Garnett-for-draft-pick rumor. It's just cruel right now)? Do you trust Doc Rivers to make the team significantly better?

The team's best player, Paul Pierce, has gone back-and-forth between loyal soldier and frustrated superstar over the last few years. Last night's results might have been the breaking point. If he goes, what's left? Al Jefferson is a very good player, but he can't carry a team. Certainly not this one.

Don't believe the Celtics' lies. They weren't a playoff team last year, if healthy. They won't be one next year, unless Ainge makes that huge move. Instead they'll get a nice player at five, but not an instant upgrade, which they sorely need. You'll read story after story about the Celts' most legitimate need -- a solid veteran -- and wonder why Ainge won't pull the trigger. The Celts don't want to give away the next Joe Johnson or Chauncey Billups, so they'll just say their players -- who can't win more than 35 games -- are too valuable.

Simply, the Celtics have sold hope for the last six months to their fans, and last night that hope was taken away. Not just for next year, but probably the year after that, and the year that. And likely the year after that and the year after that. The return to competitive basketball -- defined by deep playoff runs and semi-serious Finals contender -- was just set back five years. Considering one way or another Pierce will gone somewhere in that timespan, it might now be even longer.

What now, indeed?