In the summer of 2002, Kenny Anderson entered his contract year. Due to his high salary, nearly ten million, he was traded by the Celtics. In the next two seasons, the Celtics' performance plummeted, dropping from 49 wins to 44 wins, then to 36 wins.
The second big brother was Payton. After the Lakers' F4 collapsed in the summer of 2004, he was traded to the Celtics. With Payton's help, Pierce led the team to a bounce-back, achieving 45 wins and ranking third in the East.
However, in the playoffs, they unluckily faced the Pacers. The Pacers had only dropped to sixth place because multiple players were suspended after a brawl. Even without Artest, their lineup was far stronger than the Celtics. Ultimately, the Celtics lost in game seven, being upset by the lower seed.
In the summer of 2005, after Payton's two-year mid-level exception contract with the Lakers expired, he left the Celtics and continued to follow O'Neal. The Celtics immediately collapsed.
