1.Miami 2.New York 3.Washington 4.Orlando 5.New Jersey 6.Philadelphia 7.Boston

It is getting a little out of hand, this Rick Pitino hullabaloo in Boston. Take, for example, what happened a few days after Pitino accepted a 10-year, $70 million contract to coach the Celtics and assume the responsibility of leading the franchise out of the darkness and back to the playoffs. Three days after becoming the highest-paid coach in American sports, Pitino attended a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. After taking his seat in the long shadow of the Green Monster, he was mobbed by a crush of adoring fans. "He signed maybe 75 baseballs and 50 gloves," says new Celtics general manager Chris Wallace, Pitino's right-hand man. "It's like going out with Elvis."

Pitino has star power—that much is certain. What is unknown is how long it will take him to resurrect the flagging franchise. Last season the Celtics missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, but it was how they missed that really hurt: Boston was massacred repeatedly and finished with the worst record in team history.

Pitino has acted quickly to remake the roster according to his vision. In his second stint as an NBA coach (he was with the Knicks for two seasons in the late '80s before taking over at the University of Kentucky) Pitino has brought in nine new players, four of whom will start. Two Celtics—Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer—have already played under Pitino, at Kentucky.

"It's a dream of ours to make the playoffs this year," says Pitino. "Is that realistic? Of course not, but you have to build that spirit in the team. My goal is to have three All-Stars. We have to develop from within to get one or two, and that means using the draft and working with the players we have. Then we have to go out and use free agency to get another."

So there's the blueprint. Pitino's first move as coach was to assure Walker, who often clashed with Pitino at Kentucky, that he fits into the Celtics' long-term agenda. Last season the 6'9" Walker was one of the most productive and versatile rookies in the NBA; he regularly saw time at all three frontcourt positions and even handled guard duties on occasion for M.L. Carr's undermanned, outgunned club. Like all young players, Walker must become more consistent, but with the right nurturing he could soon blossom into an All-Star.

Pitino's next step was to secure his backcourt of the future. From the draft he plucked point guard Chauncey Billups from Colorado with the third pick and shooting guard Mercer with the sixth. Both are young (21), and because Pitino doesn't suffer from any delusions of immediate grandeur, both will be able

to grow gradually within the new-look franchise. Billups was generally regarded as the top point guard prospect in the draft; Mercer plays well with his back to the basket but needs to refine his outside stroke if he's going to be as dominant in the pros as he was at Kentucky.

The other new starters are center Travis Knight and small forward Chris Mills. In a move that reminded many of the inglorious days of Carr, Pitino signed Knight to a seven-year, $22 million free-agent contract to be his center of the future. Knight, whose rookie season as a Lakers backup was a pleasant surprise, runs the floor well for a big man and will anchor Pitino's pressing defense, but in four years in college and one in the pros he has never averaged in double digits in points or rebounds. The free-agent signing of Mills, a 39% three-point shooter who played his first four seasons in Cleveland, allowed Pitino to waive much-injured forward Dino Radja and trade forward Eric Williams to Denver for two future second-round draft picks. Williams, once a promising prospect, quickly wore out his welcome with Pitino by repeatedly blowing off his summer appointments with the Celtics' strength-and-conditioning staff.

"What I've tried to do with all the moves we've made is put together a group of people who want to work hard individually and as a team," says Pitino.

"I also wanted to build value in the program. We have to make the people we have more valuable in the market. Yes, we want them to be part of the Celtics, but if we have to make another move, we have to be in a situation where teams would want the players we have."

The last time the Celtics franchise was in need of a savior, a guy named Larry Bird came to the rescue. In his rookie season, 1979-80, Bird led a 29-53 club of the previous year to a 61-21 record and the Eastern Conference finals. The next season the Celtics were NBA champions.

Even Pitino can't work that kind of magic. This rebuilding project will take longer than two years.

—Lars Anderson