It appears Celtics boss Danny Ainge will hold onto his future assets as trade deadline looms

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2017/02/bulpett_it_appears_celtics_boss_danny_ainge_will_hold_onto_his_future_assets


It appears Celtics boss Danny Ainge will hold onto his future assets as trade deadline looms


Steve Bulpett


Wednesday, February 22, 2017



Credit: Christopher Evans

WHAT’S THE DEAL? With the NBA trade deadline today at 3 p.m., Danny Ainge has to decide whether to sit tight or make a trade to alter the Celtics for this season.



With less than 24 hours until the NBA’s 3 p.m. trade deadline today, the Celtics were said to be still holding out hope that internal discussions within the Bulls and Pacers would lead to one or both making their best player available.

But short of that, the view from around the league is that the Celts are becoming more and more enamored with the idea of keeping their main assets and using the first-round draft pick they have coming from Brooklyn in June via a swap of positions. (They also have the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder unencumbered.)

Sources continued to say that, while there remains a chance things could change as the deadline draws nearer, Chicago and Indiana are more likely to retain Jimmy Butler and Paul George, respectively. Those All-Star talents have been the Celtics’ two main targets, and the club will no doubt work to put together an attractive trade package if either is truly on the market.

But even here there is word that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been protective of a key asset.

One agent with ties to a potential deal insists that even preliminary talk between the Bulls and Celtics recently went nowhere when the C’s did not want to include this summer’s Nets choice. There is no definitive word on whether they would be willing to include it for George, though that would certainly seem likely and even a requirement from Indiana’s standpoint.

All of this could mean Ainge is posturing to drive a better bargain, or that he really does want to get a shot at some of the potentially transformative players at the top of the coming draft. Washington freshman Markelle Fultz may be the prize.

Beyond getting a primary talent that would fit more with the sustainable plan, the Celtics could also work the edges for a short-term gain. There was talk that Dallas center Andrew Bogut would be a good addition for the remainder of the season as a rental, but while he’s likely to be moved, don’t expect it to be to Boston.

If the Celts do make a move of this type, look for it to be more in the JaMychal Green or P.J. Tucker range.

All of the league talk regarding the Celtics is that, barring a star being freed, Ainge will look for a tweak or nothing at all. And the consensus tended to agree with that strategy, keeping the larger picture in mind.

Said one league general manager, “If you can’t move the needle past Cleveland, it doesn’t mean anything. And that’s not even getting to what’s out west.”

The idea is the requirement for making a bigger trade is that it would have to at the very least give you a serious chance to get past the Cavaliers this season. But from the way Ainge seems to be dealing with the rest of the league, it’s perhaps even more important that he equip the Celtics for a lengthier stay among the contenders.

If he keeps this year’s Nets pick — a chip on which the Celts will most certainly have the opportunity to entertain bids prior to the draft — it will be interesting to see how the club’s currency is valued going forward.

The C’s still will have the 2018 Brooklyn pick, which is looking like another lottery ticket. But what about the players Ainge has amassed?

Some will no doubt be gone if the Celtics use the pick and welcome in one or both of the first-rounders they kept overseas this year (Ante Zizic, Guerschon Yabusele). Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley seem to be the most enticing at present, at least in part because of their favorable contracts.

As for the others, there seems to be divergent opinion. A number of teams are speaking very highly of Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, and one key league evaluator was asking questions about Kelly Olynyk.

“I was having my doubts, but that guy can play,” he said. “He really has a good sense for the game, and it seems like when he wants to he can shoot.”

On the other hand, one general manager said the younger Celts will have a growing exposure problem.

“It’s just like it is with guys who stay in school for a few years,” he said. “After a while, you start looking at what they can’t do, and you talk yourself out of them.”

But from the looks of things, Ainge may be talking himself into more youth for the Celtics.


bob


.

Remember 2 years ago when Danny was ready to sell the farm of draft picks to get Winslow?

Danny was determined to acquire an athletic SF for the team and then last year he found that player in Jalen Brown at #3.  Danny knows that Jalen will take 2-3 years to develop and he can afford to wait because Jae Crowder is a quality starting 3 on a long term cap friendly contract.  Two to three years up the road Jalen may be ready to become a full time starter at the 3 spot.

In many respects they have 2 SF's that can play multiple positions, Jalen can swing to the 2 and Jae can play 4.  It is a perfect setup.  While it is difficult to project how quickly Jalen will developed he has already opened a few eyes with his contributions.  He is really quick because he has that all important first step that opens up driving lanes.  He is more of a slasher at this point but as he settles in and continues to work on his outside shooting he can become a complete player.  He plays good defense and is a good rebounder.  He gets out fast with or without the ball on the break and he has this remarkable maturity for a 20 year old kid.  

In essence the SF upgrade that a Butler or a George would provide is already on the team albeit in still the developmental stage.  But Having Jae in place provides the Celtics with the luxury to realize a natural and systematic transition from Jae to Jalen over time.

Any trade for a Butler or George would require a partial gutting of the core to make the numbers match up.  Oh let's throw Amir and his $12 million expiring contract in the mix to make the salaries match up!  And that would weaken an already weak frontline.

The right choice is the easiest choice.  Keep the core in tact and give yourself a chance to draft a kid like Fultz.  Explore more roster upgrades on draft day and over the summer.  Make decisions on whether to extend IT and AB, make a decision to let Amir walk or resign him to a cap friendly 2-3 year deal, decide if Zizic and/or Yabu are ready to make the trip across the ocean, make a decision about James Young and Jordan Mickey.  Make a decision about Jonas and Zeller.  Make a decision on what to do with the 3 second round picks this year.

Danny has a lot of balls in the air.   His goal is to maintain the core and add quality talent to it.  He is not willing to let other teams get a nibble.  He is unlikely to experience the Winslow Syndrome again.

dboss

Now that Cousins has been traded, I see no one other player who is worth trading the Nets pick for at this time.  Perhaps once the draft order is determined in May this pick may be more a consideration to be traded as it could easily be the fourth pick and not either of picks one and two.

If the Cs get either the first or second pick they will have some nice, talented guards to use as trade bait.  With IT, Bradley and Smart all due for some sort of free agency after next season it only make sense that all three will not be re-signed unless the Cs decide to go well over the salary cap.  They will also still have Rozier, but will have to make room for whomever they draft this June.  Jackson is not a real consideration yet, but we may see that he is also going to be a good NBA player at the guard position.

Neither George nor Butler is worth both a Nets pick and Jae Crowder to me and that does also not include the other players that it would take to make salaries work.  I know that there are a lot of people who think that both George and Butler are better players than Crowder, but I believe that Crowder is the better player for "our" team than either of George or Butler would be.  To add to that thought, I think that Crowder is going to keep improving for at least a couple more years as he will be further motivated to get a much better contract when his present contract is up.

The Cs are scoring plenty of points this season, and although Thomas may not save them every night, getting some more rebounding front line players is far more important than over paying for a shooter for both the remainder of this season and also for next year.  Although Avery Bradley has not reallyplayed in a couple of months he is STILL our team's leading rebounder (RPG). We lost a one point game before the all star break when we were out-rebounded by 20 yet scored 100 !

I hope that Zizic and Yabusole are going to help next year, but I have to say that I am not holding my breath for either of them to be the only solutions to our rebounding performance. Yes, they are both playing well in the leagues they are in, but neither is playing in the NBA yet so both will still show up next season (if they do show up) with zero NBA experience.

Please keep the Nets picks, but get us some help on the boards, Mr. Ainge.

wideclyde wrote:Now that Cousins has been traded, I see no one other player who is worth trading the Nets pick for at this time.  Perhaps once the draft order is determined in May this pick may be more a consideration to be traded as it could easily be the fourth pick and not either of picks one and two.

If the Cs get either the first or second pick they will have some nice, talented guards to use as trade bait.  With IT, Bradley and Smart all due for some sort of free agency after next season it only make sense that all three will not be re-signed unless the Cs decide to go well over the salary cap.  They will also still have Rozier, but will have to make room for whomever they draft this June.  Jackson is not a real consideration yet, but we may see that he is also going to be a good NBA player at the guard position.

Neither George nor Butler is worth both a Nets pick and Jae Crowder to me and that does also not include the other players that it would take to make salaries work.  I know that there are a lot of people who think that both George and Butler are better players than Crowder, but I believe that Crowder is the better player for "our" team than either of George or Butler would be.  To add to that thought, I think that Crowder is going to keep improving for at least a couple more years as he will be further motivated to get a much better contract when his present contract is up.

The Cs are scoring plenty of points this season, and although Thomas may not save them every night, getting some more rebounding front line players is far more important than over paying for a shooter for both the remainder of this season and also for next year.  Although Avery Bradley has not reallyplayed in a couple of months he is STILL our team's leading rebounder (RPG).  We lost a one point game before the all star break when we were out-rebounded by 20 yet scored 100 !

I hope that Zizic and Yabusole are going to help next year, but I have to say that I am not holding my breath for either of them to be the only solutions to our rebounding performance. Yes, they are both playing well in the leagues they are in, but neither is playing in the NBA yet so both will still show up next season (if they do show up) with zero NBA experience.

Please keep the Nets picks, but get us some help on the boards, Mr. Ainge.

Wide as you know I was and remained totally against a trade or Cousins although he would have really addressed our rebounding woes. But I am glad that he if off the board so that Celtics fans can let go. I said all along that DA was not going to go after him and as we have seen we had more than enough assets to make that deal or any deal.

Ainge may do a minor tweak to add a descent rebounder but the long term upgrades needed to the frontline will have to wait. But I see no sense of urgency in trying to make that happen now. Once we move into year 5 of the 5 year rebuild the pressure will really mount for Ainge to make at least one blockbuster trade. In the meantime we will sit back and watch this scrappy team fight for playoff position. And we will be glued to the TV as we watch those balls bounce around in hopes that our turn to get the top pick has finnally arrived.

dboss