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9 Players the Boston Celtics gave up on way too soon

By Michael Saenz

Heading down memory lane, we explore and break down nine players that the Boston Celtics seemed to have given up on too soon (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Heading down memory lane, we explore and break down nine players that the Boston Celtics seemed to have given up on too soon (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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Boston Celtics Joe Johnson (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

2. Joe Johnson – Traded in 2002

I’m not sure what it is with the Boston Celtics trading rookies before they even have one season under their belts, but there was a time when this team did so without blinking. Not only did the Celtics give up on rookie Chauncey Billups way too early but they would make the same mistake four years later with Joe Johnson.

Johnson was the 10th pick by the Celtics during the 2001 NBA Draft but was traded to the Phoenix Suns after just 48 games played for Tony Delk and Rodney Rodgers. Delk and Rodgers were not terrible players for the Celtics but didn’t have quite the impact on the team that a seven-time all-star could’ve had.

Johnson went on to make seven all-stars (six with the Hawks, one with the Nets) and finish his career with over 20,000 career points scored.

What has to hurt most for Celtics fans is the fact that there is another reality out there where they have a big three of Billups, Pierce, and Johnson during the 2000s. Thankfully, the team did win a championship in 2008, because if not this would’ve been one of the biggest “what ifs” in NBA history.

Still, Celtics fans should be a little annoyed they were robbed of some potential glory years during the early-2000s.