Like everyone else, David West was shocked when he heard on NBATV that the Celtics were interested in working out a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans to acquire his services.

“I was sitting on my couch and it was like, ‘David’s coming to the Celtics.’ It caught me off guard like it did everybody else,” West said. “I don’t think it was as close as everyone speculated. It was just something that just kind of gained steam.”

West already had an offer in hand from the Pacers, a team that had been aggressively courting him. As the next few days unfolded he and his agent weren’t certain that the Celtics could actually make the deal. West made his choice, although to him there wasn’t much of a choice to make.

The reaction took him by surprise, specifically comments by Ray Allen in an ESPN.com story. Allen said he was “shocked,” that West would sign on with the Pacers and suggested that money was more important than winning a championship. Speaking before the Celtics got throttled by the Pacers, 87-74, at the Garden, Allen said his words were taken out of context.

“I was speaking in generalities,” Allen said. “I don’t know his situation is or was or why he made his decision. I wasn’t referring to him going for the money, or whatever his ultimate decision was.

“It disappointed me because it almost seemed as though I was bashing him for a decision he made that was best for his family,” Allen continued. “When I read it I was really, really pissed because I don’t have anything against David. By no means was there any malice toward him or his family.”

Allen may have been doing damage control, but West who is one of the most grounded players in the league, didn’t take the opportunity to fire back.

“I really am not a guy that’s gotten a lot of fanfare so it kind of caught me off guard, a lot of people’s reactions to me making the decision that I thought was in [my] best interest,” West said. “It’s just a little weird, but I’m able to deal with it. I’m happy where I am.”

The Celtics have existed for the last four-plus seasons as a team that is built to win now. That’s always been their best calling card when it comes to free agents: Come to Boston, play with four All-Stars and get a chance to win a championship. But the reality is those days are numbered.

This is the last stand – for real this time – and one can make a convincing argument that they are not only behind Miami and Chicago, but they have also given up ground to the next generation of teams in the East, like the Pacers. On Friday night, Indiana had more energy, way more rebounding and more punch off the bench where they outscored the Celtics, 33-12.

“We’re a 4-4 basketball team,” Doc Rivers said. “That’s what we are. You are what your record is, make no mistake about that. One of the guys said we’re better than that and I said, no, no we’re not. Right now, Indiana is a 5-2 team and we’re a 4-4 team.”

It was a game that Rivers said, “set offense back 50 years. It was awful to watch. Offensively we were horrible. The ball stuck the entire night. They were up into our airspace. The fought us all night. They knocked us off the block. They were the instigators the entire night and all we did was whine and retaliate.”

West was booed when he was introduced and throughout the game, but as the Celtics tied a franchise-worst with 25 first-half points, that anger was turned against the home team and they deserved it. No excuses, they said over and over again, which was good because there weren’t many to make.

“It was bad from start to finish,” Rajon Rondo said. “We just didn’t have it tonight. No excuses. Give them credit.”

Give West credit too for making a decision that was in his best interests both personally and professionally. From the wreckage of a half-decade of lost basketball, Indiana has emerged as a team of the future. What they needed was a veteran, someone who could provide them with scoring and rebounding first and foremost, but also a dose of professionalism.

“He fits in perfectly,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s exactly what this team needed. He brings leadership, just the way he carries himself, he’s one of those guts that doesn’t have to rah-rah with his voice. His presence in the locker room makes guys takes things a little more seriously and that’s a welcome thing for our young team.”

The Pacers may be young, but timing is everything in this sport and coming off a galvanizing run to the playoffs and an unexpectedly strong showing against the Bulls in the first round, time isn’t just on their side, it’s right now.

West knows all about timing. He was part of a Hornets team that won 56 games and took the Spurs to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals, but things unraveled quickly after that and they were never able to return to that level. A chaotic ownership situation didn’t help matters, either. The Pacers offered a fresh start and a chance to be a part of something.

“The opportunity to re-establish myself, a new locker room, a new environment, just a whole new everything,” West said. “It’s a challenge, but it was something that I kind of needed. At times in New Orleans, I was just there. We had an opportunity a few years ago and rode that until things kind of went south and that’s what happens in the league. You just have to move on.”