The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

by **bobheckler** Sat Sep 23, 2017 11:43 am

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/celtics-nearly-blew-masterful-rebuild-161100738.html

The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Business Insider Scott Davis,Business Insider

Fri, Sep 22 9:11 AM PDT

The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft The_Celtics_nearly_blew_their-36f63962ce890d93d157b40def46de47

(Steven Senne/AP)

If the Boston Celtics had gotten their way at the 2015 NBA Draft, they might look much different today and perhaps not as good.

In 2015, in the midst of a rebuild, the Celtics badly coveted Duke wing Justise Winslow in the draft and made a big play to try to move up to draft him.

The Celtics, picking at 16th, reportedly offered six draft picks, including four future first-rounders, to the Charlotte Hornets to move up to ninth to draft Winslow. Perhaps just as insanely, the Hornets turned it down to draft forward Frank Kaminsky.

Winslow instead was taken tenth by the Miami Heat and the Celtics drafted guard Terry Rozier with the 16th pick. Celtics GM Danny Ainge said afterward (via ESPN): "There was a time when I thought, 'Woah, this is getting a little out of control.' We’re putting a lot of eggs in one young player’s basket."

The exact details of the Celtics' offer are unknown — the picks could have come with heavy protections or they may have been their own later picks as opposed to the highly valuable Brooklyn Nets picks.

It's also possible that the Celtics would have blown their masterful rebuild had this trade gone through.

If any of the Nets picks were included in the trade offer to the Hornets, the Celtics might not have had the chance to move down from No. 1 in this year's draft and take Jayson Tatum, a promising scorer, at No. 3. There might not be versatile second-year forward Jaylen Brown, who was taken with the third pick in the 2016 draft.

Giving up a future pick might have also meant missing out on Kyrie Irving this summer. As ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote, there's no Irving deal without the 2018 Nets pick.

The Celtics' rebuild after stripping down the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett-Ray Allen Big Three has been one of the best in NBA history. Through a combination of draft picks, scouting, coaching, savvy trades, and now some big free agency signings (Al Horford and Gordon Hayward), the Celtics went from a team in the middle of a tear-down to a championship contender in two seasons.

Winslow could have turned into a valuable contributor for the Celtics, perhaps even an All-Star, but the rebuild almost certainly would not gone as well had Boston given up so many assets for him.

bob
MY NOTE: Danny always says sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. Usually that's because people want MORE from him than he's willing to give up. This time he was the one who was snubbed. Fortunately...

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by **mrkleen09** Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:12 pm

Source?

by **bobheckler** Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:31 pm

mrkleen09 wrote:Source?

Siurce of what Danny offered to move up to get Winslow? It was widely reported at the time.

bob

.

by **mrkleen09** Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:45 pm

It was widely reported that DA offered six draft picks, including four future first-rounders for Winslow?

All I found were articles mentioning "rumors" and citing "sources". I never heard it from any credible on the record source or from DA himself. Seriously DOUBT IT to be honest.

by **wideclyde** Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:05 pm

I am another one who was very happy that the offer for Winslow was rejected. Wondered at the time if Ainge had been hit in the head once too often when that trade was proposed.

by **swish** Sat Sep 23, 2017 11:04 pm

And of course the rumor is excepted by some as the gospel - when it could be nothing but pure speculation by a writer playing general manager. I guess it's just part of the annual off season rumor mill tradition that is a part of writers trying to beat off seasonal doldrums.

swish

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat Sep 23, 2017 11:47 pm

Fake news

by **swedeinestonia** Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:53 am

4 first rounders for a 9th pick doesnt seem very reasonable unless they would conditioned so only 1-2 of them would actually be transferred.

by **dboss** Sun Sep 24, 2017 11:05 am

There are facts and speculation associated with this story. Danny did engage with trade talks because he coveted Winslow. Danny indicated that the price to make the deal happen was too high.

We do not know the specific number of picks that were waived around.

Danny would have really screwed up if he parted with multiple first round picks. In the end Danny comes out smelling like a Rose and Jordan comes out as inept decision maker.

Dboss

by **NYCelt** Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:15 pm

There was a lot of speculation in various reports that Ainge offered six draft picks, but that was never verified by Ainge or any other official source.

Impossible to say what would have happened had the deal been made, of course.

Besides, you can never have enough Duke players.

Maybe with a couple more, Kryzewski would have reconsidered his rejection of Boston's offer and come here to coach after all.

You know...Kyrie, Tatum, Winslow...maybe Parker, Okafor, Plumlee, Redick, Plumlee, Rivers, Plumlee, Deng, Hood, Dunleavy, Curry, Ingram, Coach K...

Wonder how Boston would look with a blue shamrock in the logo?

by **k_j_88** Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:39 pm

Of course Ainge will never, ever admit he was willing to part with 6 draft picks.

I think Ainge is probably better off trading draft picks than using them to draft. His scouting leaves a lot to be desired.

KJ

by **beat** Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:36 am

Jk_j_88 wrote:Of course Ainge will never, ever admit he was willing to part with 6 draft picks.

I think Ainge is probably better off trading draft picks than using them to draft. His scouting leaves a lot to be desired.

KJ

So name a few GM's that currently do better? Not a perfect science.

All of them wiff a lot.

beat

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The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

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Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft

Re: The Celtics nearly blew their masterful rebuild 2 years ago by making an insane trade offer to move up in a draft