After failing to capitalize on two opportunities to knock out the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA off-season has officially begun for the Boston Celtics. With superstars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen becoming unrestricted free agents as of July 1, the Celtics’ front office will have to decide whether or not to offer the veteran players one or two-year deals in order to return to Beantown.

As of right now, the consensus around the league and amongst Celtics fans is that the Big 3 era in Boston is over. Rajon Rondo is under contract for the next three years and Paul Pierce has two years left on the rest of his deal with the Celtics, but this team will not be the same without the soul of the team in Garnett and the team’s best outside threat in Allen.

There’s no question that both of these free agents will get some interest around the league once they officially hit the open market in July, but until then the futures of both players are undecided and very much up in the air.

Almost immediately after the Celtics were beaten by the Heat in Game 7, the San Antonio Spurs expressed in the Big Ticket with Tim Duncan’s career potentially coming to an end with retirement possibly being the route he would like to take before next season. No team has shown interest in Allen as of yet, but the offers will almost certainly come with the sharp-shooter still amongst the best in the league from beyond the arc.

So it remains to be seen what the Celtics’ front office intend to do in terms of retaining Garnett or Allen, but it would be safe to say that the Big 3 era is over and a rebuilding process might begin in Boston this summer.

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