My interest in the Celtics model has nothing to do with my affection for the team. I live near Boston and though nothing could make me a Yankees fan, the sheer annoyance of dealing with Boston fans of all stripes is a pretty compelling case.

However, the Celtics have continued to do what everyone says they shouldn't do---keep their core of aging players intact, while teams like the Mavs jettisoned the present for the future--and last month they were within one quarter of making another NBA Finals. Which they might have won. Then they re-signed KG for three more years.

Now they're on the verge of doing EXPLICITLY what the Mavericks won't do, which is sign Jason Terry. It's not quite, as near as I can tell, a done deal, and if I were pitching numbers I could live with for Terry, 3 years and the MLE sounds about right. But as our Alan Smithee points out below, Terry is probably a Celtic and, once again, another team made the plunge the Mavericks wouldn't make.

Obviously, none of us would ACTUALLY rather be a Celtics fan. But how do you feel?