What's next for Celtics after dealing top pick?

http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4726215/whats-next-for-celtics-after-dealing-top-pick



What's next for Celtics after dealing top pick?



1:00 AM PT



Chris Forsberg
ESPN Staff Writer




Markelle Fultz arrived on the campus of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Friday morning to find Red Auerbach’s prized silver Mercedes with its “BCELTIC” vanity plates parked out front.

Fultz, bleary-eyed after a cross-country flight following a workout with the Los Angeles Lakers the day before, was greeted by Ric MacPherson, to whom Auerbach bequeathed the eye-catching ride. The two made small talk about the possibility of Fultz landing with the Boston Celtics in Thursday’s draft, and Fultz gamely posed for a few pictures in front of the vehicle.

Over the course of the next 36 hours, Fultz got another unexpected Auerbach history lesson, this time in the business of basketball.

It was Auerbach who parlayed the No. 1 pick in the 1980 draft (Joe Barry Carroll) into Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick in the draft, used to select Kevin McHale. Those two players would pair with Larry Bird to ignite Boston’s original Big Three era.

Nearly four decades later, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who often has referenced Auerbach’s fearless and emotionless approach to roster construction, traded the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft -- or the right to draft Fultz -- to the Philadelphia 76ers for a pair of first-round picks that Ainge must believe will eventually help Boston take a step forward in its quest to return to title contender again.


Markelle Fultz was impressed with Boston and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. Now, he's likely headed to Philadelphia, after the Celtics and 76ers complete a pre-draft trade. Jennifer Pottheiser/Getty Images


After a series of draft nights and trade deadlines passed with fans lamenting Boston’s lack of big-splash activity, Ainge left much of Boston's fan base slack-jawed on Saturday night as the Celtics and 76ers agreed to the parameters of a deal that should become official on Monday.

This is a gutsy move for Ainge. Even in a city where “In Danny We Trust” is a popular catchphrase among Celtics supporters, much of the Boston faithful decried the mere notion of trading the No. 1 pick after word of a possible deal first spread on Friday night.

If Fultz emerges as the superstar that most suspect he will eventually be, then Celtics fans will forever wonder what might have been and why Ainge was so willing to move the pick. If the Process-trusting 76ers emerge as Boston’s biggest future competition in the Eastern Conference, then Ainge will hear groans for his role in helping Philadelphia assemble an insanely intriguing young core.

With emotions still raw, Celtics fans simply yearned Saturday to know what’s next. And yet, Ainge will never tip his hand. Here’s one certainty: A Boston team that won 53 games last season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals has a ridiculous treasure chest of draft picks and the potential for max cap space to navigate the summer.

The Celtics now own as many as seven first-round picks in the next three drafts. Boston has more than enough picks overall to draft an entire 15-man roster over the next four years.

It leaves you wondering if there’s a bigger plan here, a desire to add the sort of talent that’s a bit more established than Fultz and can more rapidly aid Boston’s quest to close the gap with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.

The danger there is that, given how dominant the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors were this season, some will wonder if developing a young talent like Fultz might have been Boston’s best chance to compete both now and further down the road.

There’s a lot of uncertainty at this juncture. This trade might very well one day be one of the more heavily scrutinized moves that Ainge has made in his tenure. But in the immediate aftermath, we’re left recalling two things Ainge has said in recent seasons:

1. No such thing as too many draft picks. When Boston seemingly made a deal each day during one particularly busy stretch in January 2015 (four total from January 9 to January 15), Ainge was asked if it was possible for a team to have too many draft picks. He was emphatic that there could be no such issue.

"No, because draft picks are always tradable; players are not," Ainge said. "Draft picks are always assets.”

2. Staying in the game. After that same 2014-15 season, Ainge was asked about Boston’s desire to make a big-splash move, and he suggested that the Celtics “want to stay in the game until we can do something significant.” Ainge pointed out how Boston had put itself in position to attract Kevin Garnett during the summer of 2007, thanks to its available assets. Ainge also referenced how the Houston Rockets were able to pounce when James Harden became available in October 2012.

With so many first-round picks, Celtics fans will daydream about Boston using that treasure chest to eventually pry loose a bona fide star. Oh sure, you’ve heard the usual names, such as Jimmy Butler and Paul George. But Boston has so many assets that the Celtics might look for an even bigger splash (while unlikely any time soon, remember that Anthony Davis will probably be entering the final year of his deal in two more seasons).


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Chris Forsberg ✔ @ESPNForsberg
Celtics with potential for seven first-round picks in next three drafts. Updated glance at pick surplus:
11:13 PM - 17 Jun 2017
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Maybe Ainge simply thinks there’s a prospect in this year’s draft -- a Josh Jackson or a Jayson Tatum -- who has just as much upside as Fultz, even if the hype is less. And maybe moving back was simply about generating a future asset because Boston knew its preferred player would still be available at No. 3.

But it just feels like there’s something more here. Remember, this is a team that was plotting its run at Kevin Durant and Al Horford long before the summer of 2016. This was a team that positioned itself to pitch Kevin Garnett long before the summer of 2007.

In this moment of uncertainty for the Celtics, it’s a good bet that this isn’t the only spin the Celtics will take this summer in Trader Danny’s Tesla.



bob
MY NOTE:  It's funny how Forsberg says that Danny always quotes Red's "fearless and emotionless approach to roster construction", but I seem to remember a story of where Danny told Red that if he was the GM he would have traded Larry and Kevin when their bodies were finally starting to crap out on them.  Red had loyalty to players who were loyal to him.

I have no idea how all this is going to play out, I cannot believe Danny doesn't have something cooking, but I didn't see Red as "emotionless".  He looked for a way to trade Ed McCauley to Saint Louis so he could be with his sick son.  Sure, that got us Bill Russell but McCauley was an All-Star, it's not like he was "just another player".


.

bobheckler wrote:http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4726215/whats-next-for-celtics-after-dealing-top-pick



What's next for Celtics after dealing top pick?



1:00 AM PT



Chris Forsberg
ESPN Staff Writer




Markelle Fultz arrived on the campus of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Friday morning to find Red Auerbach’s prized silver Mercedes with its “BCELTIC” vanity plates parked out front.

Fultz, bleary-eyed after a cross-country flight following a workout with the Los Angeles Lakers the day before, was greeted by Ric MacPherson, to whom Auerbach bequeathed the eye-catching ride. The two made small talk about the possibility of Fultz landing with the Boston Celtics in Thursday’s draft, and Fultz gamely posed for a few pictures in front of the vehicle.

Over the course of the next 36 hours, Fultz got another unexpected Auerbach history lesson, this time in the business of basketball.

It was Auerbach who parlayed the No. 1 pick in the 1980 draft (Joe Barry Carroll) into Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick in the draft, used to select Kevin McHale. Those two players would pair with Larry Bird to ignite Boston’s original Big Three era.

Nearly four decades later, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who often has referenced Auerbach’s fearless and emotionless approach to roster construction, traded the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft -- or the right to draft Fultz -- to the Philadelphia 76ers for a pair of first-round picks that Ainge must believe will eventually help Boston take a step forward in its quest to return to title contender again.


Markelle Fultz was impressed with Boston and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. Now, he's likely headed to Philadelphia, after the Celtics and 76ers complete a pre-draft trade. Jennifer Pottheiser/Getty Images


After a series of draft nights and trade deadlines passed with fans lamenting Boston’s lack of big-splash activity, Ainge left much of Boston's fan base slack-jawed on Saturday night as the Celtics and 76ers agreed to the parameters of a deal that should become official on Monday.

This is a gutsy move for Ainge. Even in a city where “In Danny We Trust” is a popular catchphrase among Celtics supporters, much of the Boston faithful decried the mere notion of trading the No. 1 pick after word of a possible deal first spread on Friday night.

If Fultz emerges as the superstar that most suspect he will eventually be, then Celtics fans will forever wonder what might have been and why Ainge was so willing to move the pick. If the Process-trusting 76ers emerge as Boston’s biggest future competition in the Eastern Conference, then Ainge will hear groans for his role in helping Philadelphia assemble an insanely intriguing young core.

With emotions still raw, Celtics fans simply yearned Saturday to know what’s next. And yet, Ainge will never tip his hand. Here’s one certainty: A Boston team that won 53 games last season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals has a ridiculous treasure chest of draft picks and the potential for max cap space to navigate the summer.

The Celtics now own as many as seven first-round picks in the next three drafts. Boston has more than enough picks overall to draft an entire 15-man roster over the next four years.

It leaves you wondering if there’s a bigger plan here, a desire to add the sort of talent that’s a bit more established than Fultz and can more rapidly aid Boston’s quest to close the gap with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.

The danger there is that, given how dominant the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors were this season, some will wonder if developing a young talent like Fultz might have been Boston’s best chance to compete both now and further down the road.

There’s a lot of uncertainty at this juncture. This trade might very well one day be one of the more heavily scrutinized moves that Ainge has made in his tenure. But in the immediate aftermath, we’re left recalling two things Ainge has said in recent seasons:

1. No such thing as too many draft picks. When Boston seemingly made a deal each day during one particularly busy stretch in January 2015 (four total from January 9 to January 15), Ainge was asked if it was possible for a team to have too many draft picks. He was emphatic that there could be no such issue.

"No, because draft picks are always tradable; players are not," Ainge said. "Draft picks are always assets.”

2. Staying in the game. After that same 2014-15 season, Ainge was asked about Boston’s desire to make a big-splash move, and he suggested that the Celtics “want to stay in the game until we can do something significant.” Ainge pointed out how Boston had put itself in position to attract Kevin Garnett during the summer of 2007, thanks to its available assets. Ainge also referenced how the Houston Rockets were able to pounce when James Harden became available in October 2012.

With so many first-round picks, Celtics fans will daydream about Boston using that treasure chest to eventually pry loose a bona fide star. Oh sure, you’ve heard the usual names, such as Jimmy Butler and Paul George. But Boston has so many assets that the Celtics might look for an even bigger splash (while unlikely any time soon, remember that Anthony Davis will probably be entering the final year of his deal in two more seasons).


Follow
Chris Forsberg ✔ @ESPNForsberg
Celtics with potential for seven first-round picks in next three drafts. Updated glance at pick surplus:
11:13 PM - 17 Jun 2017
 119 119 Retweets   154 154 likes


Maybe Ainge simply thinks there’s a prospect in this year’s draft -- a Josh Jackson or a Jayson Tatum -- who has just as much upside as Fultz, even if the hype is less. And maybe moving back was simply about generating a future asset because Boston knew its preferred player would still be available at No. 3.

But it just feels like there’s something more here. Remember, this is a team that was plotting its run at Kevin Durant and Al Horford long before the summer of 2016. This was a team that positioned itself to pitch Kevin Garnett long before the summer of 2007.

In this moment of uncertainty for the Celtics, it’s a good bet that this isn’t the only spin the Celtics will take this summer in Trader Danny’s Tesla.



bob
MY NOTE:  It's funny how Forsberg says that Danny always quotes Red's "fearless and emotionless approach to roster construction", but I seem to remember a story of where Danny told Red that if he was the GM he would have traded Larry and Kevin when their bodies were finally starting to crap out on them.  Red had loyalty to players who were loyal to him.

I have no idea how all this is going to play out, I cannot believe Danny doesn't have something cooking, but I didn't see Red as "emotionless".  He looked for a way to trade Ed McCauley to Saint Louis so he could be with his sick son.  Sure, that got us Bill Russell but McCauley was an All-Star, it's not like he was "just another player".


.

If Fultz ends up being the next Kobe Bryant than that should be Danny's ass!!

Sorry to keep harping on this but I was hoping that Fultz might be the playmaker that we need. We do have a wealth of guards but no playmakers under 6'10". Who knows if he would have panned out but Fultz looked like he might have the passing and scoring skills to be a Westbrook, Harden, Curry, James (not a guard but that's why he's the best) type of player. None of our current guards, good as they are, look to have that potential. And none of the FA names on the radar do either. Maybe you can win a title without one but I don't see much evidence of it.

now that a boatload of first round draft picks.....who wants some...come on down...who wants some draft picks....they all have that new draft pick smell still...they can be anyone...come on now...
call me

1-800- Danny

kdp59 wrote:now that a boatload of first round draft picks.....who wants some...come on down...who wants some draft picks....they all have that new draft pick smell still...they can be anyone...come on now...
call me

1-800- Danny

Kdp,

That should be 1-326-692-4643 (1-dan-nya-inge).

You don't really think Danny would give away free calls, do you?


bob


.

rumors are that Philly turned DOWN a trade for Butler for the #3 pick ( I didn't see what else the Bulls wanted anywhere).

Kinda hard to see Danny turning that down, IF he likes Butler.

Butler for the #3 pick? Straight up? Are you kidding? No way the Bulls make that deal.

If we want a FA, then it has to be #3, AB and Crowder for Butler. I think AB has to be traded because we won't be able to afford both him and IT. AB feels he's underpaid as it is