I'm not a fan of the Marion deal if it involves #5.
The trade value of #5 is truly not that high at all. Look no further than the fact that the #7 yielded us Sebastian Telfair. Folks thinking that the #5 could somehow be flipped for a KG or Jermaine O'Neal need to curb their expectations. If we get Marion and all we have to give up is the #5 and Ratliff, it would be a huge steal on our end.
What happens if Marion comes here, hates it, and opts out after next season? Plus, is Marion the answer? He plays Pierce's position of SF.
Paul can play SG and Marion can play PF. Whichever one you want to move at any given time, you can go ahead and do that. That's not a disadvantage, that's an advantage. If we want to go big one nite, Paul plays the 2, Marion the 3, Al the 4, Perk the 5. If we want to run and play small, Tony Allen plays the 2, Paul the 3, Marion at 4 and Al at 5.
Someone at CelticsBlog had mentioned making a move for Marcus Camby instead. I like that better. Denver has to move him for Tax purposes, and he wouldn't cost you #5. Adding Camby for Theo's contract, plus a player (telfair/Allen?) & pick (minny's 1st?) would be great since it would bloster our front court, and allow us to draft at #5. Think of a 4/5 rotation of Jefferson/Camby/Perkins with Pierce, Wally, Rondo, West, #5 pick, etc... that's good enough and saves our future.
I wouldn't mind having Camby on our team...if Marion was already on it. We either go for broke and try and win with Pierce while he's still in his prime, or we have to absolutely break it apart and start from scratch.
If we don't make a move for a quality veteran star, and if we do make this #5 pick, and if we in turn do not trade Paul Pierce, it would even more firmly entrench us in the purgatory-like endless cycle of mediocrity we've been in for 2 decades.
If we continue to try and put band-aids on this team rather than either trying to create a legitimate championship team or just tearing the team apart, then within the next two years, we'll have been swept in the first round twice, missed out on two more lotteries, lost Al Jefferson to free agency, lured no free agents, missed Paul Pierce's prime and be stuck with a series of ever-developing youngsters who will all likely get the hell out of Boston the minute their rookie contract expires.