Danny Ainge is actively trying to trade Rajon Rondo. No matter what Ainge said during his joint press conference with Doc Rivers, no matter how many times he carefully tried to avoid saying he was openly shopping Rondo, no matter what a Hornets source told Gary Washburn about Ainge not shopping Rondo, it’s becoming evident that the truth is otherwise.

Ainge is not actively trying to trade Rondo for just anyone. He is trying only to trade Rondo for Chris Paul, widely believed to be the NBA’s best point guard, or for Stephen Curry, who would then be swapped for Paul. The proposed end result of Ainge’s madness always ends with Paul in green and white, teaming with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for at least one season of what-if, then re-signing (or not re-signing) with the Celtics when his free agency arrives at year’s end.

Ainge is willing to acquire Paul without any promise the All-Star will remain in Boston beyond 2011-12. Whether Ainge believes that strongly in his own persuasive powers — that he will be able to convince Paul (and maybe someone else, possibly named Dwight Howard) to become Boston’s future — or he simply believes Paul is the key to maximizing the Big Three’s NBA title chances in the coming season, Ainge would reportedly roll the dice without any assurances. Ainge is willing to trade Rondo, whose ridiculously-below-market-level contract expires after the 2013-14 season, for one season of Paul, one season to try to convince Paul to make Boston his permanent home. In other words, Ainge is willing to trade Boston’s lone building block for the future in exchange for what might amount to a one-year rental, but has the (however slight or strong) possibility to leave Boston with the world’s best point guard for the foreseeable future.

What we know for sure, or what we believe we know for sure based on what the world’s top NBA reporters can agree on, is surrounded by a layer of questions, all equally as perplexing as the next. Allow me to take a stab at answering some of them.

Why is Ainge pursuing Paul so aggressively?

I’ve thought about this question a lot and narrowed it down to two primary reasons: 1) Paul’s a better player, and 2) Ainge would make out with his mother if he felt it would improve the Boston Celtics. Ainge has come to the conclusion, right or wrong, that Paul’s talents outweigh Rondo’s and are worth risking the possibility of entering the 2012-13 season with only Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley under contract.

Would trading for Paul, then losing him to free agency, kill Boston’s immediate future?

Yes or no. But probably yes. If the Celtics enter the summer of 2012 with just Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley under contract, there’s no attraction for Dwight Howard. Nor would there be one for Deron Williams (unless the pair miraculously decided to join Boston together, despite the fact that no superstar free agent has ever signed in Boston). The second-tier unrestricted free agents in 2012 are Andrew Bynum (whose knees are made of Jermaine O’Neal), Tim Duncan (who will be approximately 84 years old), Steve Nash (who will be even older), Jason Kidd (who could be Duncan’s grandfather), Gerald Wallace and Jason Terry. All are decent players. None would make the Celtics’ future seem much less bleak.

Assuming that neither Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen retire after this season, the two would be free agents who the Celtics could presumably sign and give the Big Three yet another chance. But if you think the Big Three could contend as a nucleus in 2012-13, without Rajon Rondo, you probably need to wash the rust that’s accumulating on your brain. Basically, if the Celtics trade for Paul, it’s re-sign or bust.

Why is Boston’s offer for Paul considered second-rate?

I still don’t understand this. The Hornets reportedly value Stephen Curry more than Rondo. A package of Curry, Klay Thompson and Ekpe Udoh reportedly holds more value than a package of Rondo, Jeff Green and two first-round picks. Huh?

Rondo’s resume: two All-Star appearances, two-time All-Defensive First Team selection, one championship, the best playoff performer (by far) for a team that went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Boston’s best playoff performer for the past three seasons (marred only by his elbow injury this season), second in the NBA in assists last season (just 0.2 behind Nash), occasionally inconsistent production, tough hombre who normally rises to the occasion of big games

Curry’s resume: zero All-Star appearances, zero playoff appearances, a terrific shooter, average playmaker, candidate for Tim Kawakami’s annual All-NBA No-Defense Team (Kawakami, a Warriors beat reporter, should know as well as anyone) and someone whose presence actually made the miserable Golden State Warriors defense worse, albeit very slightly

Keep in mind, Rondo’s just two years older than Curry and already has NBA Finals experience. I realize Curry’s a better shooter and scorer. Far better, even. But considering how much more Rondo has accomplished in his career, understanding Rondo improves by miles every season and realizing that the Celtics’ reported deal is even sweetened by multiple draft picks, how is Golden St.’s package better than Boston’s? I’m confused. It just doesn’t make sense. Of course, for all I know, the rumors might have been leaked by a New Orleans front office executive looking to extract more talent from Danny Ainge’s pocket. Who knows?

I could do the same comparison using the Hornets’ reported infatuation with Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. Am I crazy, or is Boston’s reported offer simply better than either of those teams’?

Why might any potential Chris Paul trade be controversial?

The NBA currently owns the Hornets. If Paul ends up in Boston or any other big market, conspiracy theorists will soon be shouting through megaphones, picketing with signs and throwing bricks through windows.

How will Rondo react to all the rumors?

Let’s pretend the Celtics don’t trade Rondo. At this point, it seems like the likely outcome. Ainge will try to explain the rumors by telling Rondo something to the effect of, “But at least we tried trading you for Chris Paul and only Chris Paul, not anyone lesser.”

But here’s the thing: Rondo considers himself the league’s best point guard and has for years. Trying to trade him for a player Ainge considers better isn’t just likely to hurt Rondo’s feelings. It also attacks Rondo’s supreme self-confidence, one of the pillars on which Rondo has built his career. That confidence won’t go away anytime soon. But his trust and appreciation for Ainge (and perhaps Doc Rivers) sure might. Rondo can be an emotionally fickle guy. These rumors, even if that’s all they amount to, won’t help.

The difference between the current Rondo trade rumors and the 2009 Rondo trade rumors is this: Then, the Celtics were shopping Rondo because he misbehaved too often. Now, they’re shopping him because they think they can acquire a better player. Should Paul be traded elsewhere, the effect of these trade rumors on Rondo might be far greater (and worse) than they were two years ago.

Kevin Garnett’s first huge contract helped cause the 1998 NBA lockout. His second huge contract brought his career earnings to more than $270 million. He could lose as much as Antoine Walker did, twice, and still be a millionaire fifty times over.

But he’s also wise with his money. According to a report from NBA.com, Garnett deferred portions of his contract so he will earn $5 million per year for seven years even after his current contract ends.

In fact, Garnett’s self-funded pension (apart from his NBPA one) will be pretty plush. Two sources told NBA.com that the Celtics forward will still have $35 million coming after he retires. He’ll be due $5 million annually for seven years, the result of deferred salary Garnett and agent Andy Miller got in each of his last two contract extensions. Whatever portion is due from this season might be affected by games lost to the lockout, but it’s not as if Garnett’s financial spigot gets turned off next spring.

Garnett has made more than $15 million in each of the last twelve seasons. And that’s just from basketball. Add his endorsement deals, like Gatorade, Adidas and now Anta shoes, and Garnett is the Michael Phelps of money — just swimming in cash.

Money-wise, he can obviously afford to sit out this year in exchange for a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement. Money-wise, he can afford just about anything. But from a competitive standpoint, Garnett doesn’t have a lot left. If the NBA cancels this season — and I hate to think like this — Game 5 against the Heat might have been Garnett’s last game. After a full year off, at age 36 by then, would Garnett even attempt a comeback?

That’s why this NBA lockout sucks. We’re not just losing basketball games. We’re losing the end of Kevin Garnett’s career. We’re losing some of Kobe Bryant’s finals days as a dominating force. We’re losing Tim Duncan’s twilight, Lebron James’s revenge, Dirk Nowitzki’s title defense, Blake Griffin’s ascension to greatness and Dwight Howard’s prime. We’re missing John Wall growing up, Ricky Rubio’s debut, Kevin Love gobbling rebounds, Kevin Durant’s run at the throne, and Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony trying to co-exist. We’re missing portions of arguably the best era in NBA history, a three-tiered layer of stars, one attempting to defy age, another attempting to come of age, and another entering its absolute prime.

The amount Garnett is deferring for retirement represents 35% of the yearly difference between the players association and the owners. At least this lockout isn’t absurdly foolish or anything like that. Then this would really be a brutal time for an NBA fan.

The NBA lockout hit a major setback today. After breaking off negotiations today, the two sides have not scheduled any more meetings.

The only good news is that nobody can blame this on Kevin Garnett. The bad news is, well, everything else. Get used to the short three-point arc and the longer shot clock, because it seems as the only hoops played for the foreseeable future will be college basketball.

I would rant about the greedy owners who aren’t satisfied with being mere billionaires, or the greedy players who are the highest-paid professional athletes in any sport. But it seems I’ll have plenty of time to formulate that post. The mourning period has begun, hope has been sucked out of the NBA as if by a vacuum, and I have no freaking idea when my favorite sport will return. Maybe January, maybe February, maybe 2012-13.

If you’re drinking tonight, make it a double. And then pour one out for the NBA season, which is looking more and more like a mirage.

Today’s NBA labor discussions weren’t completely without progress, as the two sides inched closer to a 50-50 revenue split, “give or take a point with ranges based on revenue performance,” according to a source cited in a Yahoo! Sports report.

As long expected, the two sides have moved closer to a “50-50 split, give or take a point with ranges based on revenue performance,” one source said.

While the league’s owners and players made progress in Wednesday’s 8½-hour mediation session, one source involved in the talks was hesitant to characterize it as a “breakthrough” moment, saying system issues could again derail talks. The two sides will resume mediation at 2 p.m. ET Thursday following the conclusion of the owners’ board of governors meetings. The owners are meeting to discuss a new revenue-sharing plan, and what type of proposal they present to the players on Thursday will determine whether the labor talks continue to gather momentum. …

Yet, it was always believed the two sides would eventually have to meet in the middle, and sources said there was momentum on Wednesday to get there.

“I think everyone is expecting miracles. It is still going to take some time even with a mediator,” one league executive said. “I don’t think Cohen has solved disputes in two days.”

Is 50-50 a fair deal? That’s for the two sides to decide. But it’s a revenue deal the sides are reportedly approaching, and if they want to agree, you certainly won’t find me standing in the way picketing.

Yet former Celtic Leon Powe made a lot of sense Wednesday night on his Twitter page, even if he did so without using proper grammar. If the players concede to a 50-50 split, that is more or less taking the entire brunt of the league’s losses and pinning it on the players. The league reported a loss of $300 million last season. A drop from 57% of BRI to 50% of BRI equates to the players shouldering $268.8 million of the owner’s losses, or 80.6% of the league’s losses, by my calculation. And that’s assuming the league actually lost as much as it said it did, despite reports of secondary ownership benefits like Cavs owner Dan Gilbert turning his Cavs ownership into two brand new casinos, which cast a shadow of doubt over the NBA’s balance sheets.

“We need a fair deal, we the players got to make up for everything, all of the lost. Which is not fair, if we got to miss the season, then ok,” Powe tweeted.

As usual, there are other blood issues. Adrian Wojnarowski said the biggest hurdle might be luxury tax proposals which the NBA wants to use to further discourage teams from overspending. The owners also want to limit Larry Bird rights and restrict teams over the cap from using the mid-level or bi-annual exceptions. And, they would like to take each player’s first-born child.

Oh, yay. Another new basketball tour in some place I’ve never been, highlighted by stars who should be playing in the NBA rather than messing around in exhibitions, which I can’t even watch on TV.

I’m sick of the NBA lockout, and I’m sick of exhibition games popping up left and right. But Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are reportedly among more than a dozen stars expected to participate in the biggest NBA lockout exhibition tour ever, and they’ll reportedly get paid between six figures and $1 million for their efforts.

Kevin Garnett is also considering whether to join the tour. Insert your “he’ll just [expletive] the tour up” joke here _____. (ESPN)

In a trip that could resemble Team USA’s takeover of the world stage at the 2008 Beijing Games, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce and Kevin Love are among the players expected to participate. Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, among a few others, are also contemplating joining the tour.

Atlanta business mogul Calvin Darden has been putting the tour together with the players’ agents for nearly three months. He has already obtained signed contracts from Bryant, Wade, Bosh, Griffin, Rondo and Pierce. Sources say he’s hoping to complete the rest of the agreements, along with insurance requirements, over the next few days.

Even so, sources warned that the tour has not yet been finalized and there’s still a chance it could unravel.

The tour, scheduled to begin Oct. 30 and end Nov. 9, will make stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau, and Australia. Each game will be staged in an arena that holds at least 15,000 fans. Two games each will be played at sites in London and Australia. …

While Darden’s business record is impressive, his family has endured controversy. His son, Cal Darden Jr., recently spent nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

The 36-year-old Darden Jr., once a high-rolling stockbroker on Wall Street, was convicted of defrauding 11 victims of roughly $7 million. In addition to stealing money from securities firms, he was convicted of bilking $300,000 from former NBA star Latrell Sprewell and $950,000 from rap star Nelly.

Though Darden Jr. will have no more than a minor role in the tour, several sources said Darden Sr. has been very open with the involved parties about his son’s legal issues and that they do not foresee them causing a problem. Darden Jr.’s main role has been putting together the charitable component of the tour.

This is exactly what I want Rondo and Pierce doing. Risking their bodies to play six games in faraway countries, games organized by a media mogul whose son, also playing a role in the tour, is a convicted felon known for defrauding 11 victims of roughly $7 million. To be fair, even if he bilks $300,000 from any of the barnstorming stars, Calvin Darden, Jr. is probably not any worse to work for than Donald Sterling.  Plus, who doesn’t want a convicted felon handling the charitable component of the biggest tour in NBA lockout history?

Seriously, this isn’t how this year is supposed to go. I’m supposed to be rooting for the Celtics to somehow beat the Heat, not praying for Rondo and Pierce to stay healthy while playing in Macau. For the love of Bill Sharman, NBA owners and players association, please come to an agreement.

NBA owners and players have had since July to negotiate a new labor deal to end the NBA lockout. Really, the two sides began negotiations two years ago, at least according to Billy Hunter. Yet Kevin Garnett went to five hours worth of meetings and reportedly [expletived] everything up.

This fight has grown nastier, more personal, in the past weeks. Privately, management insists that everything changed when the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett walked into the negotiating room on Oct. 4. The owners knew it wouldn’t go well when Garnett started glowering across the table, sources said, like the league lawyers, owners and officials were opponents at the center jump. He was defiant, determined and downright ornery. He was K.G. Everyone knew Hunter had to cede to the wishes of the stars, and the stars demanded that the players stop making concessions to the owners.

As one league official said, “We were making progress, until Garnett [expletive] everything up.”

In other words, as one league official said, “Billy Hunter was ready to completely cave into Stern’s demands, ready to hand Stern the keys to his house and Ferrari, 50% of BRI, his first-born child and his limited edition Boy Meets World DVD set, until Garnett started glowering across the table and assured the players would not accept a bum deal.”

Seriously, though. If Kevin Garnett being Kevin Garnett at one single meeting can cause progress to come to a swift end, maybe there wasn’t so much progress after all. It sounds like a lot of owners are conveniently blaming Garnett to hide the fact that they’re trying to give the players a swirly after taking their lunch money. This lockout will continue until one of two things happens:

1) the players, missing their paychecks, decide to crumble

or

2) the owners, knowing they’re huge assholes, decide to put the subs in the game and settle for a 20-point win instead of a 40-point blowout

In case you were wondering, the two sides were scheduled to meet for a mediating session with George Cohen today at 10 a.m. But not everyone’s convinced the session will help.

But can a mediator swoop in and smooth out two years of bickering in one day?

Attorney Jay Krupin, chair of EpsteinBeckerGreen’s national labor practice in Washington, doesn’t think so — unless the players are prepared to concede on some issues.

“If the players want to get back on the court, then this is a great time for them to try to show that they’re willing to make some type of compromise, and I think that’s what it is,” he said. “This is an opportunity to really determine whether or not the players are willing to make concessions. I think the owners are willing to walk away without concessions, so if the players really want to make concessions when they meet, that has to be expressed to the mediator.

“If that happens, then the burden turns to the NBA to say, ‘All right, you’ll be willing to make some concessions; now we’re willing to talk.’ If they’re not willing to make concessions, then the mediation would just go on for the day and it’ll let the NBA know that they probably have to cancel, go through Christmas and maybe even the rest of the season.”

Here’s how I expect the mediating session to go:

The year was 2007, and I sat squished alongside five friends in my buddy’s single dorm room. The seating arrangements could have been (much) better: sitting six people into a Skidmore College single is like fitting 17 in a Toyota Corolla. But I was in New York, I didn’t get Fox Sports New England, and my buddy Harry was the only person I knew who shelled out enough money for the cable package that included NBA TV. I wanted to, needed to, watch the new-look Celtics open preseason against the Toronto Raptors in Italy.

The C’s had just suffered through “The Gerald Green Year,” a youth movement of sorts that — combined with Paul Pierce’s injury-riddled campaign — left the Celtics with the NBA’s worst record, Doc Rivers with a bulls-eye on his back that columnists regularly took aim at, and fans with a “please lose as many games as possible so we can select either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant” mentality. When the NBA Draft lottery came and the Celtics were granted the fifth pick, I pondered my options. I could …

1) change allegiances and become a fan of some other team — ANY other team that wasn’t destined for failed season after failed season. But that really wasn’t an option, because, really, what kind of fan switches teams?

2) continue my existence as a miserable Celtics fan, blame Sebastian Telfair for everything bad that happened in life (“my keys got lost — screw you Telfair, you overhyped, underachieving son of a bitch!”), ask God daily why he ever mustered the cruelty to place Green, Telfair, Tony Allen and Wally Szczerbiak on the same team, and fall asleep each night muttering, “Allan Ray. Seriously?”

Or

3) talk myself into fully embracing Yi Jianlian, who Danny Ainge was reportedly enamored with at the No. 5 pick.

I chose the third choice. A seven-foot tall Chinese dude with soft touch and decent athleticism? Forget Durant and Oden! Yi’s the future of basketball! The Celtics got lucky to fall to the No. 5 pick!

FML.

The events that took place following the Draft lottery can only be described as stunning. The Celtics traded for Ray Allen on draft night, turning from laughing stock to “hmm, that team might be fun to watch” literally overnight. Rumors about the C’s acquiring Kevin Garnett shortly followed. I checked into HoopsHype 759 times per day from the computer where I worked at the local swimming pool. On the umpteenth day of The Garnett Watch, HoopsHype afforded me some ridiculously good news, which can only be judged by my reaction: in front of 75 kids, 15 mothers, three hot mothers and my boss, I loudly screamed “F*** YEAH” at the top of my lungs. I almost got fired, but who cares about a job in a time like that? The Celtics had just paired Kevin Garnett with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Thank you, Kevin McHale. Would you like chopsticks with your pu-pu platter?

The Celtics quickly became the hottest ticket around town, but it’s important not to forget: there were serious question marks about whether they could contend in year one of the Big Three era. Ray Allen was 32 years old and coming off double ankle surgery. Paul Pierce had just finished his own injury-prone season. Kevin Garnett was still one of the five or six best basketball players in the world, but could the three of them really carry Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins on their backs? Remember, at that stage, neither Rondo or Perk had accomplished anything in their NBA lives. We knew very little about them. Rondo was young, uber-athletic and showed flashes of unadulterated brilliance, but lest we forget, he spent his rookie year backing up Telfair. And I assure you, it’s never a good sign when your team’s starting point guard was known as “Sebastian Telfair’s backup” just months ago. Perk was hulking, he frowned a lot and he had worked hard during his early years to cut a load of baby fat. But his offensive game was less complete than my latest Rubik’s cube, and it was difficult to calculate his defensive capacity. For so long, his defensive acumen had been hidden alongside young, immature teammates with nary a clue about how to play defense.

I really just used the word nary. But I digress.

For the first time, packed into the tiny dorm room, surrounded by the hot stench of my friends’ body odor, I saw the new-look Celtics in action. A few truths were immediately evident: Kevin Garnett looked odd wearing anything besides Minnesota Timberwolves colors, but he treated even preseason games like the NBA Finals. Ray Allen shot like a goddess, even when he missed, and also has enormous calves. James Posey would help everything, so much, even when he didn’t score. Eddie House had a quicker release than a virgin on his first time. But mostly, I watched and marveled at one thing: in the Celtics offense, the ball moved from side to side like a crowd’s eyes at Wimbledon. Back and forth, forth and back, the Celtics moved the ball like a Pete Carril Princeton team. You could never tell that two of the Big Three had recently been ball-stopping superstars with the basketball constantly in their hands. On this team, surrounded by so much talent, everyone wanted to keep everyone else happy. Maybe even too much so. The C’s passed up a few open shots to make the extra pass. But that was a trivial matter that more practice time would take care of. After watching Gerald Green for the previous year, this was like updating from Soulja Boy to Tupac.

At that point, watching NBA TV in that crowded, hot room, I still had no idea where the Big Three era would lead me. I didn’t know the Celtics would forge so quickly and rattle off 66 regular season wins, more than any team (1985-86, 67 wins) but one in Celtics history. I didn’t know they would struggle to beat the Hawks, barely nudge past a locked-in Lebron, find their inner playoff warrior against the Pistons and embarrass the Lakers in Game 6 to take home the franchise’s 17th title. I didn’t know “Anytthhinngggg isssss posssssiiibblllleeeee.” I didn’t know the slew of what-ifs that would follow in the coming years. What if Garnett didn’t get hurt? What if Perk never tore his ACL? What if Danny Ainge never traded for Jeff Green, or Rajon Rondo never dislocated his elbow? I didn’t know how joyful it would be to root for this Celtics team, even in the playoff losses, always so valiant and selfless and inspired, even if certain regular season games — especially the second night of back-to-backs — have been frightful to observe. I didn’t know Paul Pierce’s transformation into a mature man would finish. I didn’t know Rajon Rondo would blossom into one of the league’s most exciting, creative players, and also one of its most confounding. I didn’t know just how nice it would be to watch Ray Allen spot up on the wing in transition. I didn’t know Eddie House would become one of my favorite Celtics ever, James Posey’s hugs would be etched into my memory forever, or that Perkins — with his jaw that always seems set for war — would prove his worth and then some. I didn’t know losing to the Lakers in Game 7 would hurt so bad. I didn’t know I would come to love Tony Allen, even if I still hated him half the time. I didn’t know Stephon Marbury would be so strange, Glen Davis would make me feel the entire spectrum of human emotions, and Sam Cassell would never, ever stop shooting ill-advised shots. I didn’t know P.J. Brown would play such a crucial role in the only Celtics championship of my lifetime.

I didn’t know four years later, the NBA lockout would threaten to bring the Big Three era to a close without us seeing it through to the end. This glorious era that began when the Celtics got screwed in the NBA lottery might have just one season left. For the love of Scott Pollard, let us — let me — enjoy it.

I’m busy today with other, work-related, things — yes, a couple people have actually been dumb enough to employ me — but I still need to address Paul Pierce’s birthday. Jermaine O’Neal and Doc Rivers (not to mention Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose team hopefully loses this Sunday) were also born on October 13, but Pierce holds a place in my heart above even Doc.

So on the 34th anniversary of Pierce’s birth, I’d like to remind everyone how far Pierce has come. Back when Pierce butted heads with coaches, spatted with teammates, lost his cool at the worst times and occasionally went to press conferences with a bandage over his head — back when Bob Ryan called Pierce’s flagrant foul against Jamaal Tinsley in a 2005 playoff game against Indiana “the single most unforgivable, untimely, stupid, and flat-out selfish on-court act in the history of the Celtics” – who ever would have expected Pierce to grow into a selfless teammate, a true leader, and one of the few NBA superstars who cared enough to represent the players union at labor negotiations?

Sure, Pierce still settles for occasional ill-advised stepback jumpers at the end of close games. He sometimes takes a few plays off, I wish he would rebound more consistently, and his ability to grow facial hair leaves a lot to be desired. But he’s come 180 degrees from that day against Indiana, from the time when it was semi-reasonable for Celtics fans to hope Pierce would be traded. He was immature, a little bit of a gunner, a loose cannon. And now he’s matured into Paul Pierce, The Captain, the star who reshaped his game for the good of his team, the Celtic who grew in Boston perhaps more than any other.

I’ve written about my favorite Pierce moment before, but let me do it once more. It isn’t a game-winning shot. It isn’t him holding up a trophy. It isn’t him scoring 38 points and out-dueling Kobe Bryant in the ’08 Finals.

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals that same year, Pierce toed the foul line with 7.9 seconds left. The Celtics led 95-92 and realistically would seal the win if Pierce made one of two foul shots. Pierce had already scored 39 points and held his own in a mano-a-mano matchup against Lebron James. Just one make, and his Celtics would head to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the Detroit Pistons. The TD Garden crowd waited anxiously.

The first shot wasn’t one of Pierce’s best. Maybe a little overeager, he put more power behind the shot than he would have liked. It hit the back rim hard, and had no chance to fall through the hoop. But it bounced straight up, then fell straight down. Later, Pierce would say the ghost of Red Auerbach guided it through the rim.

The free throw was good, the Celtics were moving on, and Paul Pierce stood at the foul line, his face adorned with a smile so big, so wide, so genuine, that it could only come from someone who treaded water in defeat for so long, someone who cherished every second of his team’s revival because he knew how badly it beat where he came from, because he knew how difficult championship opportunities can be to come by.

Happy birthday, Truth. We love you, my man, even if you’re locked out.

Did you think the NBA actually wanted to preserve its full season? Think again. All the labor discussions to this point were barely even posturing.

“I’m convinced that this was just all part of the plan,” Billy Hunter told Ken Berger after the NBA canceled the first two weeks of its regular season. Great. Glad you guys made an honest effort. I’m really happy to be such a big fan, now. Really. Let me just go extend my season tickets for another year.

Oh, yeah. I can’t afford season tickets. I make $10 an hour or $50 per story, depending on which job I’m working, meaning I make about $350 per week, or $18,200 per year, or a mere $455,404 less than the lowest-paid NBA player, or approximately $1.5 billion less than Dan Gilbert’s worth. I live in my parents’ basement, and sometimes, I drink water at bars because I don’t have any money. But really, I’d love to buy NBA season tickets if I could. These guys definitely deserve my cash.

The lost regular season games were “pre-ordained,” one source told Berger. “All of this could have been solved so easily with any amount of effort,” the person said. The NBA has canceled two weeks of the regular season without any negotiating effort whatsoever, without any thoughts about the fans, and oh, yeah, by the way, when the league comes back, please buy NBA League Pass and tickets and merchandise because the NBA needs your support.

Peace sign up, index finger down. Think about it if you don’t get it right away.

Admittedly, sadly, I’ll be on the front line of NBA fans as soon as the lockout ends. I’m addicted. I’ll be the one watching NBA League Pass until the wee hours of the morning because the Timberwolves seem ridiculously entertaining. I’ll be the one wearing my Celtics shirt, rocking my Celtics hat, donning my NBA socks and sagging my Celtics shorts with a shamrock on them. But if I want to get David Stern in a steel cage match and give him the People’s Elbow until he cries uncle — and I’m the biggest NBA fan this side of Clipper Darrell — imagine what Joe Schmo who watches twelve games a year thinks.

We are missing games because millionaires and billionaires cannot properly split the largest revenues in NBA history. We are here because 22 nitwit owners can’t make money despite the aforementioned revenue records. We are here because dysfunctional owners like Glen Taylor want a system that allows dysfunctional franchises to compete. We are here because NBA players are the highest-paid of all professional athletes and want to preserve that status. We are here because David Stern told Billy Hunter two years ago that his owners needed a slew of concessions, and Billy Hunter effectively told him, “Go f*** yourself. We’ll miss one or two years before we give up that much.” We are here because this lockout was always destined to extend into the season, because these millionaires and billionaires don’t make enough money as it is.

“We made, in our view, concession after concession,” Stern said. Ah, yes. You never stopped offering more, Stern. You’re like Santa Claus, just bringing your sack of gifts around and offering presents to the players daily. I’m surprised you haven’t been sainted yet.

Seriously, Stern, take your “concessions” and shove them you know where. You want concessions? Check out the stadium workers losing hours. Look at the Boston Celtics ballboy who uses tips from the players to help pay his way through college. Hell, you can even take the case of the 24-year old blogger who doesn’t have enough money to move out of his parents house, but will take one week’s paycheck to attend a game at the Boston Garden.

If I wasn’t such an addict, I’d turn on the NBA right now. So go, Joe Schmo, go now, go before the NBA can reach its fat, grimy hands into your pocket one more time, and never look back.

The NBA will have the option to postpone, rather than cancel, the first two weeks of the regular season if progress is made on the collective bargaining front today but no deal can be reached, according to Adrian Wojarowski.

“How could postponement of season work?” he tweeted. “Nov 15 tip; more back to backs, make ups at end of reg season; shorter layoffs between playoff games.”

Needless to say, such a development would give the rest of the NBA a head start over the Boston Celtics. The Cs are already the Tony Romos of the NBA regular season, prone to breaking down at inopportune times. If David Stern compresses the season, adds extra back-to-backs and decreases layoffs between playoff games, the Celtics (8-11 on the second night of back-to-backs last season) stand to be harmed more than any other team.

If Wyc Grousbeck is listening, he should beg David Stern — bribe him if you have to, Wyc (wink, wink) — not to postpone the start of the regular season. The old, creaky Celtics might still be able to compete this season. But the prospect of facing additional back-to-back games and shorter postseason layoffs likely makes Kevin Garnett’s knee twinge in anticipation.