Now that it’s finally official and Nate Robinson is coming to the Celtics, we can finally address the important question: What does it mean on the court?

The Celtics also received Marcus Landry, and while it’s hard to see him having a role with this team, the undrafted rookie from Wisconsin has already proven something this season after he showed up to Knicks camp without a contract and made the team.

To satisfy the salary cap requirements, the Celtics parted ways with Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens, and while fans wanted to see both get a chance to show what they could do, it just wasn’t going to happen here. They get a fresh start in New York and maybe a chance to play some minutes.

Primarily, the Celtics gave up Eddie House, who will be fondly remembered around these parts for his shooting and his professionalism.

House became a minor folk hero in Boston after his performance against the Cavaliers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2007-08. He had been unceremoniously replaced in the rotation by Sam Cassell, and yet House never complained or said a word to the press.

House finally got his chance in what proved to be the biggest threat to the Celtics title, Game 7 against the Cavs. He memorably raced Wally Szczerbiak down the floor to knock the ball off his leg and save a crucial possession. Later, with 1:21 left in the game and the Celtics holding a one-point lead, he set up P.J. Brown for a key jumper.

He was never really a point guard, but he played it anyway as best he could. He wasn’t a great defender, but he gave you effort. House did what was asked and besides Ray Allen, who would you rather have launch a 3-pointer on the break?

But the 3’s weren’t falling as regularly for House this season and the defense seemed to be slipping, especially against ultra-quick guards.

So, Danny Ainge decided to make a minor tweak, which is exactly what he hinted he would do a few weeks ago when everyone was clamoring to trade Allen.

In Robinson, the Celtics get younger (he’s 25 to House’s 31), quicker and more versatile off the bench. As an offensive player, Robinson can simply beat you in more ways than House can.

“I’m a fan of him as a person and I’m a fan of him as a player,” Danny Ainge said on The Big Show Friday afternoon (for the complete interview, click here). “I liked Eddie. We really liked Eddie House. But Nate as a player is just a more dynamic player.”

Robinson can get to the basket and create for himself and his teammates, which was not in House’s repertoire, and while he’s not in House’s class as a long-range bomber, he’s not that bad from the outside either.

His presence also has a ripple effect on everyone else because he eliminates the need for Allen and Paul Pierce to have to handle the ball with the second unit and allows Marquis Daniels to go back to doing what he does best.

Defensively, everyone will just have to wait and watch. Robinson doesn’t have the best defensive reputation, but he certainly has more physical gifts as a defender than House, and he’s never been asked to play in a system like Tom Thibodeau’s. So, we’ll see.

We’ll also have to wait and see on the other stuff that has given some fans pause. Robinson was basically exiled this winter by Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, although it’s worth noting that he wasn’t the only one who had problems with the coach. 

His list of basketball sins includes shooting at his own team’s basket as a quarter expired and playing to the fans as in a 22-point quarter – en route to a loss – against the Magic.

None of that, obviously, will fly in Boston.

The Celtics feel like the culture of their locker room is strong enough to absorb what some would call difficult personalities, most notably Stephon Marbury. If anything, Marbury bent too far to what he thought was expected from him.

The Celtics wanted Marbury to be Marbury on the court, they just didn’t want him to be a distraction off it. The same holds true for Robinson, who has every incentive to play well for a contender and fit into the culture of the locker room. He’s a free agent after this season and this trade is a gift chance to showcase himself on the brightest stage.

In the end, the Celtics get a younger, more athletic, better ballhandler for the second unit, so from a trade standpoint, it’s an upgrade.

Whether Ainge should have tried harder to go bigger with any trade deadline moves is open for debate. The feeling here is that if the right deal had presented itself, Ainge would have acted. That he didn’t probably says more about the quality of the actual trade proposals than anything else.

Ainge indicated on The Big Show that he talked with Phoenix about Amar’e Stoudemire and that he was interested in Caron Butler before he was traded to Dallas. He also revealed that he had talked with Sacramento about Kevin Martin and may have tried to sneak into the three-way deal between the Knicks, Rockets and Kings that resulted in Martin going to Houston and Tracy McGrady going to New York.

In the end none of that came to pass and while Robinson’s not the difference between winning and losing a championship, he should help.

For that to happen, Allen clearly needs to get on track. But the Celtics’ title hopes depend far more on their health and their willingness to play the kind of basketball on both ends of the floor that has been the norm these last few seasons.