NBA All-Star Weekend 2018: The Celtics' trove of riches is on full display in L.A.

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NBA All-Star Weekend 2018: The Celtics' trove of riches is on full display in L.A.



By Brad Botkin Feb 17, 2018 • 4 min read



LOS ANGELES -- Right now in the NBA, there are a handful of teams realistically competing for a championship this season, while everyone else, in some capacity, is building for the future. For myriad reasons -- namely the salary cap and the inverse draft order, which typically sends the best young players to the worst teams -- it's very difficult to do both. Unless you're the Boston Celtics, who are the only team represented at this year's All-Star Weekend by multiple Rising Stars and multiple All-Stars.  

The All-Stars: Kyrie Irving, Al Horford
The Rising Stars: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum


"When I think about it, that really is kind of special," Jaylen Brown said of Boston having multiple All-Stars and Rising Stars. "I'm not sure how many teams have done that before ..."

"Three," Celtics.com's Marc D'Amico quickly answered.

"Three teams?" Brown replied, clearly taken aback. "Wow. When you think of it in that light, it's amazing."


Yes. It is amazing. Even more so when you consider the Celtics would likely have a third All-Star had Gordon Hayward not gone down with that broken foot in the season opener, and in addition to Tatum and Brown, the Celtics also have a potential top-five pick in this year's potentially loaded draft courtesy of that pick-swap swindle they pulled on the Sixers last summer.

Indeed, this weekend is starting to feel like one big tribute to Danny Ainge, who has, time and again, come out of a deal looking like a genius. We know about 2013, when Ainge went to the Brooklyn Nets in a ski mask and came back with a truckload of assets, without which none of this may have been possible.

In 2015, Ainge traded Marcus Thornton and a late first-round pick to the Suns for Isaiah Thomas, who he has since, of course, turned into Kyrie Irving. Along the way he managed his cap space perfectly, so as to fit Hayward and Horford, two of the biggest free agents that Boston has ever signed, neatly into the books. He drafted Marcus Smart. He drafted Terry Rozier. He hired Brad Stevens. He drafted Jayson Tatum, and got an extra pick from Philly to boot, when all the experts were screaming Markelle Fultz. He drafted Jaylen Brown No. 3 overall when a lot of casual fans didn't even know who he was.

Brown, who posted 35 points and 10 rebounds, on 14-of-21 shooting, in the Rising Stars game, is a delight in every way, a terrifically talented player who has broken out this season and is one of the most razor-sharp young men you're likely to encounter. Tatum qualifies as equally smart and mature -- both on the court with his poised demeanor and controlled-yet-aggressive game, and off the court as you listen to him speak about the balancing act of being a brand-new father with, you know, a slightly demanding day job.


"For me and Jaylen to be in this [Rising Stars] game, and our two leaders in Ky [Irving] and Al [Horford] in the All-Star Game, we're representing the city of Boston well and we're all very excited for one another to be here," Tatum said on Friday before he went out and added 15 points to Brown's 35 in the Rising Stars game.  

Both these guys are unquestionably beyond their years, which is a big reason why the Celtics' championship window might start opening sooner than anyone expected. On the night Ainge made the deal for Irving, he repeatedly noted on a media conference call that Kyrie, who doesn't turn 26 until March, "fit [Boston's] timeline." In other words, the Celtics were hoping to compete now but planning to compete a few years down the road, when they'll have Hayward locked up, and when they can hopefully sign Irving to a max deal just as these young pieces are entering their primes, with all of this conveniently coming to fruition just as the Warriors potentially begin to fall off and/or LeBron James finally does the same.

In many ways, the Celtics are playing with house money this year, already ahead of schedule and without Hayward to boot, which shines a bit more forgiving light on their recent struggles. Nobody really expects them to win it all. Not yet. But here they are, on pace for 56 wins and just two games back of the top seed in the East. Compare that to, say, the Sixers, who like the Celtics have a trove of young assets that suggest an elite future, but unlike the Celtics, are currently three games from being out of the playoffs entirely.

Again, it's tough to have it both ways. You can dump salary, pile up picks and develop young talent with an eye to the future, but you'll probably stink in the short term. You can go all in on multiple max-salary guys, but you'll likely have to empty your cupboard to get them. But the Celtics? They're stocked. Ainge is eating. And his smorgasbord is on full display here at All-Star Weekend.



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