The player that the Celtics can't afford to lose this offseason

Jeff Green, Glen Davis, Delonte West, Nenad Krstic, Troy Murphy, Carlos Arroyo, Sasha Pavlovic and Von Wafer.

This isn't a list of players that sit around and watch the Big Four perform, only to come in and blow leads and force that same Big Four to expend a lot of energy to try and get that lead back.  Murphy, Arroyo, Pavlovic and Wafer weren't given the chance to do that, although it's safe to think that they would have done the same thing had they been trusted enough to actually enter a meaningful game.  Still, that's beside the point.

These are the players that do not have contracts with the Boston Celtics heading into next season, or what we'll have of it.

With an expiring collective bargaining agreement, no real idea on what next season's salary cap will be and the Celtics completely strapped for cash thanks to massive contracts for their stars, Boston will be looking to do whatever they can to hold onto some of their quality free agents.  Green, a restricted free agent, and Krstic, a center who has already expressed his desire to return to Boston, look like they won't be going anywhere.  Murphy, Arroyo and Pavlovic will be long gone (and good riddance).  Nobody knows about Wafer yet.

Davis and West are the two big question marks heading into next season.  Big Baby made himself a target of scrutiny by telling reporters 20 minutes after the heartbreaking end to his season that he wants to start next year whether it's with the Celtics or "wherever."  The last image we had of Delonte was him hugging LeBron James (insert a "LeBron's mom" joke here) in the midst of the championship—I mean, second-round playoff victory—celebration in Miami.

It's always the quiet ones that you need to watch out for and the Celtics need to keep their eyes on West.  They need to hold onto him more than any of their other free agents.

While his regular season was, for the most part, an injury-filled waste of six months, West proved his worth in the postseason when the starters were getting tired and when Rajon Rondo was changing the angle of his elbow.  The Celtics were looking for someone to step up and relieve some of the pressure forced upon the Big Four and Delonte did just that.  He hit big shots, played solid defense and didn't make the bench look as bad as they actually were.

He's the perfect backup for Rondo because he's the exact opposite of Rondo.  Rondo can't hit a jumper consistently, no matter how much we want him to.  West is a definite threat from the perimeter and can't be left open for long jump shots.  Rondo is a fast-paced, get-the-ball-down-the-floor type of point guard.  West slows the action down and gets the team in their sets, but always seems to make the right play with the ball.  Rondo is notorious for being stubborn and sometimes hard to deal with, which isn't always a bad thing.  West seems to be very coachable, well-liked and always ready to learn something new.

Delonte West is a smart, heady player who seems to be extremely comfortable in Boston and the fans—myself included—are very high on guys like him that put in maximum effort, hustle after every loose ball and regularly receive Tommy Points.  Even with his calm exterior, he gives the Celtics the energy and life that they need and that will be absolutely necessary next season as they make their last run at a championship as a group.

The Celtics can be okay without Glen Davis, but they need to bring back Delonte West.

And Delonte may need Boston just as much.