Danny Ainge says Celtics not looking for 'Band-Aid' or 'rent-a-player' trades

Boston has a treasure trove of future picks, but that doesn't mean a deal will be done soon

James Herbert

CBS SPORTS

The Boston Celtics remain the most fascinating team in the NBA when it comes to potential trades. They are second in the Eastern Conference, and they could very well have the No. 1 pick in this June’s draft, courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets. Boston has the Nets’ 2018 unprotected first-round pick, too, and the whole league knows they would like to trade for a superstar to solidify their team as a championship contender.

Celtics president Danny Ainge has been under some degree of public pressure to make a big move for the past few seasons, but has remained patient. In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich, Ainge said that he’s open to making a trade, but it must not disrupt Boston’s long-term plan:

“I’m certainly aware of all of our competition around the East. It’s not from a lack of desire to want to do a trade, but as an organization we have priorities and a plan,” Ainge told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich during his weekly interview Thursday morning. “We’re not looking for Band-Aids and we’re not looking to give up future assets. We’re trying to build something more sustainable than a rent-a-player.”

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“Everyone knows the assets we have and the young players we have,” he said. “In any conversation we have the price is a lot because of what we have in the bank. That’s the challenge we’re facing and we’re trying to stick to our plan. If a deal comes along where the price to add someone to the team who is more long-term than someone who is just the last 25 games of the season, we have more interest in that than we do in finding a Band-Aid.”

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“We know what our weaknesses are; we’d like rim protection and rebounding. At the same time we do like skilled bigs to play around our guards,” added Ainge.

Ainge also specifically addressed the Toronto Raptors’ trade for free agent-to-be Serge Ibaka, saying, “It’s hard to give up two good young assets like Toronto did unless they really have an interest in re-signing him and making him a part of their core group going forward.” The Raptors, of course, do plan to re-sign Ibaka, but it sounds like the Celtics were not prepared to sacrifice assets to acquire him and then give him a big payday this coming summer. He would have been a nice fit, but perhaps Ainge is holding out for a superstar.

Boston is in an interesting place. With the Cleveland Cavaliers dealing with injuries to Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, catching them for the top spot in the East might be possible. The Celtics’ roster is such that they don’t have to do anything before the Feb. 23 trade deadline, but they have an opportunity to become a true title contender if Ainge finds the right deal.

It takes two sides to complete a trade, though, and the front office can’t just conjure up a difference-making trade because it wants to take the next step. Ainge has to take the path that he determines is the most prudent one, not rush into a trade because people would like to see it.

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I am not so sure that a 'band aid' player who can rebound would necessarily be a bad choice at this time.

As I have written on other threads, I firmly believe that this year's team needs to be better at the end than last year's team-both with regular season record and also in playoff performance in order to keep the re-build moving forward.

A Carmelo Anthony type guy is not a good band aid type as he is way over paid for a couple of more years, is already declining and would cost too much of the Cs core to match salaries.  But a guy like Noel could be gotten for a lot less in core players due to his salary is closer to $4M than the $26M that Anthony makes.  He is still very young and will continue to improve with the Boston coaching staff over the next few years and develop into an even better player than he is right now.  He is also young enough not to require a max salary to get signed this summer if he turns out to be a good addition for the last part of this season. I could trade a couple of the non Nets picks for him and fill in necessary salary as needed.

Would like to have Noel too but I am not sure Philly is ready to trade him. Heard George will not resign with Indiana.

dboss

Noel, with his local connections has always been a favorite of many of us. He would seem to be a good fit in a lot of ways on this roster. But Philly seems more intent on trading Okafor at this point, but you never know.

I doubt we can get Noel for a late future first  and some end of the bench roster filler myself. Philly can control him next year as  RFA and should have plenty of cap space to match any offer for him.

My feeling is they would want something like Jaylen Brown or Marcus back in any trade right now for Noel.

so to me, talking about getting Noel means losing a player like Brown possibly. But if Ainge can be assured than Noel will resign at a market deal here , keeping the Nets picks next draft allows you to replace Brown quickly for the future (Jackson, Tatum, etc.).

perhaps Danny could also protect himself from losing Noel in this instance with the Lakers or a future Philly first being conveyed to Boston if Noel does not resign here?

I'm glad to hear Ainge verbalize this, maybe it will slow the nonsense rumors.

Our greatest position of strength is to let the season play out and then take a look at how to improve the roster.  We have a team that is more competitive than expected, a batch of well placed draft picks and money for free agents who may find Boston a more appealing destination; if we wait to play our hand at the right time.

With baseball season rapidly approaching (pitchers and catchers reported this week!) an analogy from the diamond seems in order.  We're like a batter loading right now.  We've got our hips and shoulders turned back, and our lead side at a slight upward angle.  Our hands are up and we're eyeing the ball as it is being released by the pitcher.  Too soon to swing by a fraction yet, but we're in good position to evaluate what's coming.  Don't stride and commit too early, Danny.  You did that enough with the Blue Jays!