Danny Ainge: Celtics 'looking' but no 'short-term urgency' to make a move

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/danny-ainge-celtics-looking-no-010646026.html



Danny Ainge: Celtics 'looking' but no 'short-term urgency' to make a move



NBC Sports Boston

January 10, 2020, 10:06 PM GMT-3




The Boston Celtics are in the midst of a mini-slump as they near the mid-point of the NBA season. They've dropped three games in a row, including an 11-point loss to the rival Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.

Part of the reason that the team hasn't done well is that their offense has sputtered. The C's have twice scored fewer than 100 points in their past three games after failing to reach that mark in just four of their previous 33 games.

Despite their recent struggles, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn't feeling any "short-term urgency" to acquire some help, especially if it means sacrificing young assets.

"I don't think I'm looking at any short-term urgency to trade away all my young assets to get some veteran player," Ainge said, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. "But we're looking. We'll have conversations before [the] trade deadline like we do every year."

Ainge is always one of the more active GMs in trade talks and that's part of how he earned the moniker of "Trader Danny". But last season, the Celtics didn't do much at the deadline and elected to stand pat.

Ainge's hands may be tied a bit this trade season. The Celtics roster lacks the mid-tier contracts needed to facilitate a trade for a big-earner without moving one of Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, or Marcus Smart.

So, if the team makes an upgrade, it may have to be one of the smaller kind, unless they're willing to pull the plug on Hayward if they don't think that he, Brown, and Jayson Tatum can coexist.

We'll soon see if Ainge has anything up his sleeve. Still, even amid the team's recent struggles, he clearly still believes in this squad and doesn't want to sacrifice his best assets to make a desperation-based move.


bob
MY NOTE:  On one hand, we have Danny saying "relax, I'm not highly motivated", so we should discount the rumor mill.  On the other hand, he's Trader Danny, and I never believe a word he says about trade prospects or player health.  It would be 100% consistent with past behavior for Cool Hand Danny to deny he has a problem or covets a particular player.  He would never want another GM to think they have Danny over a barrel.  So, in the end, this is a "feel good" story that makes me smile; in part because I don't want Danny doing more than nibbling around the edges and, in part, because I know Danny would have lunch with his mother, kiss her goodbye and promise he'll call her soon, and then trade her for a future 2nd rounder on the way to his car.


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I got a great move, call up Tremont Waters, kid is a spark plug both ends.

I took an advanced course in interpreting Ainge Speak at Harvard a few years ago, and to the best of my knowledge, here is an accurate translation:

Ainge Speak: "relax, I'm not highly motivated"

English: "I'm going to blow the team up."

Look for Danny to keep his powder dry.    This continues to be a competitive year but not one where that one piece pushes the team into the championship round.  

The Celtics lack middle class salaries to makes deals.  They are not going to move Hayward or either of the J's.  They have draft assets but again you need more than that if you were looking for a big splash.

We have guys under contract and I suspect Danny may just sit tight unless a roster defining opportunity presents itself.

If we were not in a 3 game slump no one would be even talking about this.

Last year I think we had three (3 game losing streaks( and two (4 game losing streaks)  That is off the top of my head so you can fact check if you like.

Translation; 'We need a big or two, and a couple bench players. But we don't know who's available and who we would need to trade.'

I doubt any big deal will be coming. My bet is they'll look to build the front court in the offseason and stay as is for now. Even with a big hole to fill in the middle and a need for a more experienced bench, this is still a very good and competitive roster.

Getting there, with just a few tweaks to go. Maybe MrKleen can toss us his patented 'Patience.'