Jet landing; Ray out?

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At this point, we'll all feel pretty stupid if Jason Terry ends up back in Dallas. But for the sake of the Internet, let's just assume for a second that Terry's deal is done and the Mavs aren't going to match. Translation: Boston has a new sixth man.

Here's a random question: Is it possible for a player to win Sixth Man of the Year if he's not technically the first guy off the bench? Because regardless of how much or how well Terry plays this season, the "Sixth Man" will be Greg Stiemsma, Chris Wilcox, JaJuan Johnson, Chris Kaman, Brandon Bass, Marlon Wayans or whoever Doc substitutes for KG at the seven-minute mark.

But when you talk about the real sixth man of the 2012-2013 (yikes) Boston Celtics, you'll be talking about Terry.

And we will be . . . unless Dallas pulls a fast one and welcomes The Jet back to D-Town. (Do people even call it D-Town? I'm not sure where that came from).

Anyway, with the Terry news, it's only fair to wonder: Where does this leave the Celtics and Ray Allen?

Well, financially, it's still very possible that Boston brings Ray back. In basketball terms, it makes sense tooespecially when Avery Bradley's going to be in a race against the clock in his recovery from shoulder surgery. Who knows, depending on how it goes with Bradley, maybe Allen kicks off the season as the Celtics starting shooting guard (with Terry in his comfortable role as sixth man). That's some fine insurance right there, and you know that's what the Celtics are thinking.

But what happens ifwhen Avery Bradley's healthy? Him and Rondo are the backcourt of the present and future and it would be a mistake to break that up. In this case, you'll have Rondo playing at least 35 minutes a night, Bradley out there for about 32 and not so much extra burn for both Allen and Terry. Then what happens? With all due respect to Ray, if he was cranky about his role on last year's team, he'll definitely be cranky this year. In which case, he'll want a trade, or the Celtics will want a trade, and we'll be right back where we were last March. No one wants that.

Doesn't Ray Allen's situation remind you a little of Kevin Youkilis?

Don't you think there's a chance it could have the same kind of draining effect on that Celtics locker room? I do. So that's why even though the cap allowseven encouragesthe Celtics to make room Ray Allen, I don't think it's a good idea.

I think it's time to move on. Unfortunately, I don't think the Celtics agree.

Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine

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