Danny Ainge made it clear the Boston Celtics aren’t good enough. What now?

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/10/boston-celtics-danny-ainge-made-it-clear-the-celtics-arent-good-enough-what-now-tom-westerholm.html




Danny Ainge made it clear the Boston Celtics aren’t good enough. What now?



Updated 1:41 PM; Today 1:33 PM



By Tom Westerholm | twesterh@masslive.com



At no point during his stop-and-start end-of-season media availability laden with technical difficulties did Danny Ainge raise his voice, or sound anything less than reasonable.

He didn’t lay the blame at the feet of players or coaches. He praised the development of his young stars and expressed gratitude for the leadership of the older ones. He lauded the team’s chemistry, even in light of the infighting that followed Boston’s ugly Game 2 defeat in the Eastern Conference finals.

Still, as calmly as possible, Ainge made it abundantly clear that he was deeply disappointed with the Celtics' six-game loss to the Miami Heat, and that the Celtics need to be better next year in whatever form that takes.

“I think that, if we played (the Eastern Conference finals) again tomorrow, I think we have a chance, and we could beat them,” Ainge said. “Not that we would for sure, that would diminish what they accomplished. But I’m just saying that we feel like we can beat Miami but we didn’t and they beat us, fair and square. They played better down the stretch of games in that series. I have great respect for them and all that they accomplished. I just feel like we didn’t win they were better than us right now. But we’re going to try to get better.”


“I think that we learned,” Ainge added at one point, after listing several things that made him happy about this year’s team, "that we’re not good enough.”

Ainge has plenty of reason to be disappointed. The most obvious: The Celtics blew a prime opportunity. The Heat knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks and are a formidable opponent, but they could have been beaten. The Celtics had perhaps the easiest path to the Finals they will encounter during the Jayson Tatum era, and they couldn’t finish walking it. That’s not to say Boston won’t make the Finals, just that it will only get harder from here.

But Ainge’s angst might run deeper. The Celtics lost to his longtime rival/nemesis Pat Riley, which in turn delivered Ainge’s other longtime rival/nemesis -- the Los Angeles Lakers -- a lackluster opponent in the Finals. To make matters worse, the Lakers are on the verge of catching up to the Celtics in titles for the first time since Bill Russell ran the league. Celtics fans can rail against combining championships in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, but the ESPN on-screen graphics aren’t likely to change. When you consider all of those factors, Ainge’s disappointment comes as little surprise.

Next steps are a complicated topic. Presumably, the goal is to build a team better than last year’s. The Celtics are a contender, but one with major holes. The bench is one. The center position is another. The draft, in which the Celtics have three picks, is both a blessing and a concern: Three first-round picks will be useful, but the resulting roster crunch will be an important moment to navigate.

Ainge addressed all of those issues.

Regarding the bigs: “It is hard to find franchise bigs. That’s always been the case. There’s a lot of big guys, and a lot of big guys that can play. Daniel, Robert, and Enes outplayed opposing big men often throughout the course of this year. I’m grateful for them. But Adebayo was good. Adebayo might have been the biggest difference in this playoff series. He’s a terrific player.”

Regarding the draft and bench depth: “There are times when you need to draft for specific needs, especially when we’re drafting in the positions that we’re drafting this year and with the draft that we have this year. We’ll take into consideration all of the above: All of the players on our roster and what our needs are, who the best players are, and players that can help us more immediately. Obviously we’d take a chance on a player that was a younger player who needed some development in the G League before he was ready to play for us. We have the luxury of doing that as well. So all of those things are considerations.”


In other words, Ainge knows what’s wrong with this team, and every avenue is open. The Celtics could do some work around the margins -- several players come off the books, and others could be easily moved. If stars become available, the Celtics still have the pieces to swing a big trade, although doing so could hurt feelings among fans in Boston.

But worrying about hurt feelings isn’t Ainge’s job. The Celtics are a contender in that they can realistically expect to get to the Eastern Conference finals, where anything might happen. Ainge’s job, in part, is to turn the Celtics into a team that can realistically expect to get to the NBA Finals, where anything might happen.

The Celtics are close, perhaps just one piece away. Ainge’s job is to figure out what that one piece might be and acquire it. Few people are more up to the task. Few tasks are harder to accomplish.

“We’ve got some work to do,” Ainge said. “No question about it. I’m not overreacting to a tough loss to a good opponent. I’m just saying that there’s some things we tried to do, we’d like to do at the trade deadline that we weren’t able to do, and there’s some things I’d like to be able to do now, this offseason, to make our team better. But we have a lot to do.”



bob


.

Not that it makes any difference in the larger scheme of things, but I, personally, am unimpressed with the titles the Lakers won in the George Mikan era, when it was a white man's league and two-handed set shots were in vogue. I know, I know, it was the same for everybody, but Mikan was essentially a Mark Eaton who dominated the league because of his size

As to the larger issue, I think most of us want a dead-eyed bench shooter and an athletic big. We need to groom a successor to Kemba too, but I am fine with him for the immediate future. The real Chris Paul is nit walking through that door.

dboss wrote:With all do respect to Danny, he did a piss poor job putting this team together.

Adding 7 rookies is a formula for failure.  He still had a opportunity to make a move before the trade deadline to add a bench guy.  It would have meant parting with a guy on the roster but the end of the roster guys are scrubs so what does it matter.

He still signed Enes Kanter for the same money that Baynes got but he traded Baynes.  He is the one who did not upgrade the center spot and ended up drafting an injury plagued wing who cannot shoot and then reaching for a 6'6 " make believe PF in Grant Williams.  And then added 2 more undersized PG's that did nothing to help.

What Danny did was to spend money to replace Kyrie Irving at the expense of adding a quality center.  

Danny's plan to replicate the formula that he used to fashion our last championship blew up.  There is no doubt in my mind that he would have made the trade for AD if AD wanted to play in Boston.   Tatum would likely be with NOLA.  

Despite everything that happened with AH leaving and Kyrie Irving betraying the team he still had a chance to make it right.

Even after AD and his ignorant daddy let it be known that AD would not stay in Boston, Danny still had a chance to make something good happen for the team.  

His move was to squander a draft with 3 first rounders and overspend on a PG with a bad knee instead of securing a good center.

This draft is not filled with a lot of centers so maybe he needs to make another big time trade.  

Keep the 3 headed core in place (Marcus, Jayson and Jaylen)  Use the remainder of your players and your draft picks and the cap exceptions to bring forth a more balanced team that can win now.

dboss,

As I remember, Baynes was ok with the trade to Phoenix because he saw us as taking a step back with the loss of Horford and Irving.


bob


.

We really missed Baynes and now he’s hitting 3’s, stupid move by Danny, as was Poirier. Danny just sucks at getting bigs, he couldn’t get a Norlens Noel type? I actually think if not for GH’s injury, we still had enough, but who knew Brad was such a boneheaded coach?

Untouchable - Jayson Tatum

No offer will be good enough.


Touchable, but only for a short list - Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart

Here are the players I would consider trading either of these players for:

1.  Giannis.  MVP, DPOY.  His eliteness brought Ring Wraiths to the small market town of Milwaukee.  The "KG Effect", except that The Greek Freak is only 25 years old.  Getting him, even if it meant giving up one of the above players (even both?) will position us very well for free agency and start the rebuild of a "killer core" with Tatum.

2.  Luka.  Not going to happen, Mavs won't trade him and, even if they did, it would be impossible to make the $ work, but I'd trade either of those two players for him.

3.  Joel Embiid.  We need a high quality big and Embiid is one of, if not the, best bigs in the league.  Part of his problems have been that playing Simmons with him clogs up the middle, which takes away half of Embiid's game.  Embiid on our team, surrounded by shooters, would be hard to stop (especially if we also have another inside threat like Kanter or RWill, or even an outside threat like Theis).

4.  Ben Simmons.  I know this will make some people's heads explode but consider that every aspect of Ben Simmons' game is elite except for his shooting.  His defense is as good as Smart's, as is his passing skills.  His rebounding is better than either Celtics'.  He is positively lethal in the open court and his stellar rebounding capabilities increase the likelihood of him getting the rebound himself and immediately initiating a fast break.  Other than Giannis, how many players have the skills to rebound at a high level and then run the ball down your throat without having to outlet pass it first?  Both Giannis and Simmons can also play 4, which would help fix our need for a big.  He just can't shoot and, as we've seen from both Smart and Brown, shooting can be taught.  WHY Simmons is still not a shooter might be a coaching thing.  If Baynes and Theis can develop a 3pt point shot then Simmons can, given the right coaching and support.

All 4 of the players on this short list are perennial All-Stars, so I'm not exactly giving our two players away for cheap.  Every one of them is a "needle mover".


Tradeable, but needs a good offer for an All-Star or close to it - Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward

I soured on both of these players in the playoffs.  Both underperformed.  I can cut Hayward some slack because of injuries but injuries have been his middle name since coming to Boston.  Kemba just struggled to deal with traps and box-and-1 zones and that's unacceptable.  I'd want quality for them, they're both good enough they deserve to be traded for such, but I'd give them up for that quality.


Move the rest

There isn't another player on this roster I wouldn't be willing to move to fill holes in our needs.  I'd rather not give up Grant, I think he has upside once he starts to figure out the difference between what offense worked for him in college vs what can work for him in the bigger, faster, stronger NBA.  The rest?  Can be part of a package.


bob


.

I may be a homer, but I wouldn't give up Jaylen Brown for three Ben Simmonses

jrleftfoot wrote:I may be a homer, but I wouldn't give up Jaylen Brown for three Ben Simmonses

+1

Jaylen is not just better at 3’s than Simmons, his defense is as good or better, it’s debatable who is a better finisher, midrange and post up I’d take Jaylen all day too. Jaylen can board as good, he’s just on the outside alot in our scheme as a 2 jumping on the shooters hand out on perimeter which he is great at.

Bob,

My guess is that's a list that would be consistent with Celtic front office thinking.

I would add Smart to the untouchable list as well, but I'm not sure Danny and crew would.

My expectations are we'll finally see some creative deal making this off-season, because this roster is close, but can't get over the hump. I'm guessing Tatum, Smart, Brown and Walker return, but all bets are off from there. Unfortunately, after those four, we don't have much other teams value. As a result, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see 2 first round picks get swapped in a package deal or two. A bench overhaul is looking much easier to accomplish than bringing in another stud player, so my guess is a new bench is a given.

Regards

NYCelt wrote:Bob,

My guess is that's a list that would be consistent with Celtic front office thinking.

I would add Smart to the untouchable list as well, but I'm not sure Danny and crew would.

My expectations are we'll finally see some creative deal making this off-season, because this roster is close, but can't get over the hump. I'm guessing Tatum, Smart, Brown and Walker return, but all bets are off from there. Unfortunately, after those four, we don't have much other teams value. As a result, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see 2 first round picks get swapped in a package deal or two. A bench overhaul is looking much easier to accomplish than bringing in another stud player, so my guess is a new bench is a given.

Regards

NYCelt,

I agree with everything you said since you agreed with everything I said.


bob


.

New article on same subject by Forsberg:

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/how-can-danny-ainge-improve-celtics-roster-heading-2021



What options does Ainge have with the 2021 roster?

23H AGO


BY CHRIS FORSBERG
CELTICS INSIDER



There was a sequence early in the second quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals that accentuated the difference between the benches of the Celtics and Heat.T

Andre Iguodala and Tyler Herro ran a little handoff action on the wing and, as Herro turned the corner after receiving the ball, three Celtics defenders cheated his way in fear of a pull-up jumper. Herro calmly waited for Iguodala to slip free on the baseline and delivered a nifty bounce pass that led to an Iguodala two-handed slam.

The Celtics’ bench so clearly lacked an impact rookie like Herro or a championship-tested veteran like Iguodala this postseason. And the Heat series in particular highlighted Boston’s lack of reliable options in reserve roles.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge admitted in the aftermath of his team’s playoff exit that the team’s lack of depth was exposed a bit in the postseason but stressed that he didn’t lament the team's lack of in-season moves that could have bolstered the back end of the roster.

Ainge stood pat at both the trade deadline and the buyout market, leading some to suggest that he didn’t truly view his team as a legitimate title contender. Just the opposite, Ainge believed that, at full health, his team had the ability to make a playoff push and fretted the idea of giving up future assets for players that might not have moved the needle much for Boston.

"I don't think I would do anything different,” Ainge said at his season-ending news conference last week. "I think it's a fair assessment of our team that we weren't as strong as we needed to be. I think that we had plenty of depth to get through an Eastern Conference finals, assuming we don't have Gordon [Hayward] and Kemba [Walker] banged up, and Romeo Langford out. So, I don't think we would have done anything different.

"But I think it's a misconception we didn't make a strong effort to improve our team. And two things, in hindsight, it's a little bit different, too. Had you known you were going to have a training camp in between the trade deadline and before the season, that's probably a better question, if you knew you could bring someone in and have an entire training camp with them before they restarted the playoffs. But I still think the answer would be the same. There's a few guys we were chasing, a few guys we thought we could add to the roster that could really help us, and we weren't able to get those deals done.”

The Celtics were intrigued by Wizards sharpshooting big man Davis Bertans but were skittish of the hefty price tag required for a player on the verge of a big payday this offseason. The counter argument is that, with limited means to house rookies moving forward, the team could have been more aggressive with their picks.

Alas, history suggests this is how teams compromise their future.

Bench shooting will almost certainly be a priority for Ainge this offseason as the Celtics, set to bring back much of their core, will look to improve on the margins. Finding a veteran like Iguodala, who was a negative for the first five games of the East finals, then gave the Heat 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting and was plus-20 in Game 6, could also help a Celtics team overflowing with youth — even if it’s just a veteran voice to steady them.

Ainge wouldn’t offer specifics when pressed on what sort of upgrades the team needed to make this offseason but admitted there was some heavy lifting ahead.


“There's some things I'd like to be able to do now, this offseason, to make our team better,” said Ainge. "But we have a lot to do.”

Maybe not as much as in recent years when the roster operated like a turnstile. There’s the very real chance that this roster looks remarkably similar next season and Ainge must make the most of limited means to upgrade.

Ainge’s to-do list starts with the four picks the team has in the 2020 draft, including three first-round selections (Nos. 14, 26, 30). After carrying seven rookies as part of a 17-man roster (when you add in 2-way players), the Celtics have neither the roster space nor the ability to develop four more young players. It seems likely that some of those assets will either be consolidated or pushed into future seasons, whether that’s dealing for future picks or drafting and stashing a young player outside the NBA roster.

The Celtics got limited returns from their rookie class this past season which, again, only spotlighted Herro’s impact after Miami snagged him one spot before Boston was on the clock with their first selection. Langford, tabbed at No. 14, navigated an injury-riddled first pro season and got hurt again 81 seconds into a rare playoff cameo during Game 2 of the East finals. He underwent season-ending thumb surgery soon after.

Ainge drew grumbles last week when he insinuated that the team had hoped a healthy Langford could have aided Boston’s bench in the East finals. His larger point was that, if the Celtics had a fully healthy Walker and Hayward playing upwards of 40 minutes in that series, then Boston might have been able to limit the need for bench minutes and Langford could have potentially helped in a small role.

Instead, the Celtics didn’t have reliable options and leaned even heavier on their core, especially Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, all while playoff minutes piled up after a seven-game grind against the Raptors.

A healthy Langford might be able to better showcase his offensive potential next season. Some of Boston’s best bubble minutes featured rookie Grant Williams at small-ball center and his offensive progress could unlock more playing time moving forward.

Still, the Celtics need to hit on their draft picks in the near term, especially as the team’s salary commitment to the top end of the roster explodes with Brown’s rookie extension kicking in for the 2021 season and Jayson Tatum set to ink the biggest contract in Celtics history with his own rookie extension this offseason.

With Ainge admitting the Celtics are prepared to wade into the luxury tax, the team will have only the smaller taxpayer version of the midlevel exception to seek above-the-minimum upgrades in free agency. Maybe much of that will go towards the shooter they desperately need, and maybe a championship-chasing veteran can be hooked on a minimum deal.

It’s harder to see paths to bigger moves. Celtics fans, frustrated by Hayward’s injury woes, will clamor for the team to ponder trade possibilities after he triggers a $34.2 million player option in the final year of his contract. Alas, dealing that sort of salary, particularly with Hayward’s recent injury history, would be difficult to recoup value. The better path might simply be to hope he can stay healthy and get back to being the sort of impact player we saw in spurts before injuries set him back each time.

The Celtics have tougher decisions to make about their core players if they get into next season and, for whatever reason, they are no longer a true championship contender.

What players might not be back next season? The Celtics hold a team option on Semi Ojeleye ($1.8 million) and might no longer have the roster space to wait for his offensive development.

The team can extend a qualifying offer to Brad Wanamaker but will have to weigh whether there’s other options at backup point guard.

Javonte Green has a nonguaranteed deal and might be the victim of an overcrowded roster.

Vincent Poirier has to show marked improvement in a short offseason to justify both the roster spot and price tag.

The Celtics have a championship-worthy core but need to find more impactful role players to complement that group. The Miami series showed a bit of what the Boston bench lacked this season.

Now it’s on Ainge to patch those holes.


bob



.

my three options for our off-season today (I will change my mind soon).

note, we WILL be over the tax line next season, no matter what Ainge does.

The Stay the course off-season
Pos--PLayer-----------age---salary
C----Daniel Theis-------28----$5.000
C----Robert Williams---22----$2.029
C-----Vincent Poirier---26----$2.619
PF----Jayson Tatum----22----$9.897
PF----Grant Williams---21----$2.498
PF----Zeke Nnaji-------20---$1.800---#26 pick
SF---Gordon Hayward--30---$34.187
SF----Saddiq Bey-------21---$3.036---#14 pick
SF/SG---Jaylen Brown---23---$22.883
SG----Justin Holiday----31---$5.000----MLE
SG----Romeo Langford---20---$3.631
SG----Carson Edwards---22---$1.518
PG/SG--Marcus Smart----26---$12.946
PG-----Kemba Walker----30---$34.379
PG-----Tremont Waters---22---$1.500
Total Salary--$142.923

E. Kanter opts out or is traded

#26 or 30 pick is draft and stash

C. Edwards or J. Green for a roster spot

B. Wanamaker moves on


Next the move up in the draft option
Pos-----Player---------Age------Salary
C/PF--Daniel Theis-----28-----$5.000
C-----Robert Williams---22----$2.029
C-----Vincent Poirier----26----$2.619
C/PF--Onyeka Okongwu--20---$5.620--#5 pick
PF----Jayson Tatum-----22-----$9.897
PF----Grant Williams----21----$2.498
SF---Gordon Hayward---30----$34.187
SF----Semi Ojeleye------25----$1.753
SF/SG--Jaylen Brown---23----$22.883
SG-----Justin Holiday----31----$5.000---MLE
SG-----Desmon Bane----22----$1.785--#30 pick
SG-----Carson Edwards---22---$1.518
PG/SG--Marcus Smart----26---$12.946
PG------Kemba Walker---30---$34.379
PG----Tremont Waters---22----$1.500
Total Salary---$143.614


Bos trades #14, #26, R. Langford  for #5 pick

E. Kanter opts out or is traded

C. Edwards or J. Green for a roster spot

B. Wanamaker moves on


the Big Move off-season
Pos-----PLayer-------age-----Salary
C----Myles Turner----24----$18.000---Trade
C----Robert Williams--22---$2.029
C----Vincent Poirier---26---$2.619
PF---Jayson Tatum----22---$9.897
PF---Grant Williams---21---$2.498
PF---Semi Ojeleye----25---$1.753
SF---Gordon Hayward--30---$34.187
SF-----Tyler Bey-------22----$1.800----#26 pick
SF/SG---Jaylen Brown---23---$22.883
SG----Victor Oladipo----28---$21.000---Trade
SG----Romeo Langford--20---$3.631
SG----Carson Edwards---22--$1.518
PG----Marcus Smart-----26---$12.946
PG----Brad Wannamker---31--$5.000---RFA
PG----Tremont Waters----22--$1.500
Total Salary---$141.261

Bos trades K. Walker, D, Theis, #14 and #30 picks to Ind for Oladipo and Turner

E. Kanter opts out after being told he will be traded

C. Edwards or J. Green for a roster spot