Fast Track Rebuilding Thanks To Trader Danny

And I thought that was just our nickname for him.  Apparently, his legend is legion.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140116/boston-celtics-danny-ainge-trade-future-rebuilding/


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Celtics fast tracking rebuild thanks to Trader Danny



Danny Ainge, Rajon Rondo
Danny Ainge's trades have worked in the past for Boston, but there's one deal he shouldn't make.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images



BOSTON -- Trader Danny, the man that swindled his old pal Kevin McHale and the Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett, who jacked three first-round picks from Billy King and the Nets for the shell of Garnett and a faded Paul Pierce, who got the Clippers to cough up a first rounder for Doc Rivers, was at it again on Wednesday. Danny Ainge, the Celtics' wheeling and dealing president, shipped Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks to Golden State in a three-team deal that brought Joel Anthony, a second-round pick and a conditional first-round pick back to Boston.

What, you don't care? You will. In a matter of months, Ainge has deconstructed the last pieces of a proud title contender and put the Celtics in position to be back in the playoff picture in a year and, with a little luck, in conference contention soon after.

Look at the assets the Celtics now have to play with. They have a pair of first-round picks in '14, '15 and '16. That conditional first-round pick from Philadelphia will transfer to Boston if Philly makes the playoffs this season (not happening) or next (not out of the realm of possibility), and becomes two second rounders if they don't. And speaking of second-round picks, the Celtics have a haul of them over the next few years, too, including the '16 second rounder Miami sent their way for taking Anthony's salary off its books.

The Celtics are spiraling towards the Eastern Conference cellar -- Wednesday's 88-83 win over Toronto snapped a nine-game losing streak and improved Boston to 14-26 on the season -- but that doesn't mean the roster is devoid of talent. Far from it. Against Toronto, Jared Sullinger, the maligned ex-Buckeye whose balky back caused him to slip all the way to No. 21 in the 2012 draft, posted 25 points and 20 rebounds. Often playing out of position, Sullinger has had a strong ssecond season, and if he stays healthy can entrench himself at power forward for years to come. Throw in Avery Bradley (who has added a polished perimeter game to his bulldog defense), Kelly Olynyk (inconsistent, but showing flashes of offensive potential) and Vitor Favarani (same) and Boston has a decent young nucleus for Ainge to play with.

That's what Ainge will do, of course. You don't collect this many assets to keep them. You do what Ainge did in 2007, when he traded five players and two first-round picks to Minnesota for Garnett, right after he shipped the rights to Jeff Green (he's back too, by the way) to Seattle in a package for Ray Allen.

Those moves worked out alright, didn't they?

Ainge is going to go star hunting, and with what he has to deal he may be able to get more than one. There is plenty of buzz that Ainge likes Utah's Gordon Hayward, the Brad Stevens-coached Butler product who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. There are the 2015 free agents like Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge, who could be in play if Minnesota and Portland fear they may not be able to keep them. And there is always that wild card, the star you don't think is available until a team suddenly tells you they are. Just ask the Nets, who had just been beat by the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony when they found out Deron Williams was on the market.

Yes, the Celtics are well positioned to rebuild rapidly, and there is really only one way Ainge can screw it up: Trading Rajon Rondo. Across the league, rival executives believe that Ainge will eventually put Rondo on the trade block. He turns 28 next month, is a four-time All-Star, a basketball maestro (Erik Spoelstra's words, not mine) and plays the NBA's most valuable position. When Rondo proves he is fully recovered from an ACL injury -- and there is no reason to think he won't -- he will instantly become one of the most coveted trade pieces out there.

So why trade him? Critics of Rondo say he is high maintenance. How many stars are not? Chris Paul forced Vinny Del Negro out and has battled with Blake Griffin. The Big Three in Miami were griping about Spoelstra after only about a month of playing for him. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard just muddled through one of the most dysfunctional seasons in history as teammates. Is Rondo a natural leader? Probably not. Is he, when healthy, one of the five best players at his position? Absolutely. Before Boston decides to deal him, they should think long and hard about how difficult it will be to replace him.

You build around players like Rondo, who by the way can't be a free agent until the summer of '15. You keep this year's pick, hope the team sinks far enough in the standings to get into the Jabari Parker-Joel Embiid-Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes and you build around them. You have a coach who excels at player development. Some in the national media (cough, cough) expressed skepticism that Stevens could make the jump from mid-major Butler to the NBA, without a minute of assistant coaching experience. But Stevens developed Crawford from a gunner the Wizards were willing to hand over for spare parts last season into a playmaker with a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Jrue Holiday, Tony Parker and Damian Lillard. That's impressive.

More changes are a coming in Boston, perhaps before next month's trade deadline -- Kris Humphries and his $12 million expiring contract have been getting an awful lot of playing time over the last month -- perhaps over the summer, perhaps early next season. Trader Danny is armed to the teeth with assets, and it won't be long before the type of player comes on the market that will make him want to pull the trigger.



bob


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Here's a breakdown of Celtics draft picks by Globe's Baxter Holmes:


One of the picks is a lottery-protected first-rounder that originally belonged to Philadelphia. The Celtics will receive that pick this season if it’s not in the lottery (picks 1-14).
If that pick is in the lottery, though, the Celtics still have a shot at it a year from now, but only if it’s not in the lottery next season.

And if the 76ers do, in fact, miss the playoffs this year and next, then that pick would turn into two second-rounders, one each in 2015 and 2016.

Factoring in previous trades, the Celtics could have as many as 17 draft picks over the next five years, with as many as 10 of those in the first round.



bob
MY NOTE:  YOUR DRAFT PICKS BELONG TO US!  BWAAHAAAHAAA.  Seriously, it will be interesting to see how and who Danny converts them into.



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For those of you who think you can project where a team is likely to be in future years, here's a link that shows all of our draft picks.


http://www1.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed



bob


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We'll see if Danny has the touch.  When he first hired on as GM he brought a title here in five years.

For comparison, Auerbach built the team that won number 12 five years after Russell retired and then did it again with number 14 five years after the debacle of the Wicks-Rowe years.

If Danny can put together a contender in five years I'd be more than happy.

The Boston Celtics, where five year plans actually work.

Sloopjohnb wrote:We'll see if Danny has the touch.  When he first hired on as GM he brought a title here in five years.

For comparison, Auerbach built the team that won number 12 five years after Russell retired and then did it again with number 14 five years after the debacle of the Wicks-Rowe years.

If Danny can put together a contender in five years I'd be more than happy.

The Boston Celtics, where five year plans actually work.

Not quite sure of the five years after the Wicks Rowe era comment. (more like 3) We won in 76 then again in 81. Wicks-Roe was at its worse in the 77-78 and78-79 years and perhaps the selling of the team by Brown was even a bigger deal. Red was almost ready to jump ship I believe, I'm sure Sam would recall that. Drafting Bird a year early and swapping Just Barely Cares (Joe Barry Carroll) for McHale and Parish turned it around quickly.

I think you're right. With the exception of the mid 90's to 2007 draught, this franchise has bounced back in extraordinarily short periods.

Yes, Beat, Red was taking a taxi to Logan Airport to sign on with the Knicks, and the cab driver presumably talked him out of it. Like the hat that yielded Bob Cousy to the Celtics, the guy who yelled "We love you cooz," and trading Ice Capades date for the rights to Russell, we can thank the improbable for a lot of the Celtics legacy.

Sam

taxi driver probably took Red out for Chinese food

cowens/oldschool wrote:taxi driver probably took Red out for Chinese food

Might have been Dave Cowens at the wheel?

beat

Maybe the cabbie took Red for some Chinese food then kidnapped him. Did he ever get on that plane?

Sloopjohnb wrote:Maybe the cabbie took Red for some Chinese food then kidnapped him.  Did he ever get on that plane?

sloop, I wasn't kidding about Cowens and the cab.....



by Lynn Hoppes

Dave Cowens night as a Cabbie.

Former Celtics great Dave Cowens has this phobia: "Sitting at a table with all these photos and no one wanting an autograph! Will they even know who I am?" Uh, Dave, of course they will.
Let's see: Dave Cowens was NBA's co-Rookie of the Year in 1971 for the Boston Celtics. He was NBA's MVP in 1973. He was inducted into basketball's Hall of Fame in 1991. And in 1996, he was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

And, for one night, in the mid-1970s, he worked as a Boston cab driver.

"I just wanted to see what it's like," said Cowens, who is 6 foot 9 and about 230 pounds. "I paid $35 to become part of the Independent Taxi Operators Association. As long as you filled up their car at the end of the shift, you get to keep the fares you made."

You've got to be kidding me.

"I really wanted to show my buddy around Boston and thought it'd be a cool way and we'd have some fun," said Cowens, born in Newport, Ky. "We picked up a few fares. We took some long routes around the city. And no one recognized me."

Could that happen today?

"That was before cable television, before all these eyes on you off the court," said Cowens, who now works for the Detroit Pistons. "I was a free spirit then."

And did you really leave the sport midseason to sell Christmas trees?

"It was 1976 and I was getting burned out on playing basketball, [general manager] Red Auerbach said, 'If your heart is not into it, go. When you're ready, come on back,' " Cowens said. "So I went to my family farm in Kentucky and sold Scotch Pine trees. I was just exploring other opportunities. But I did return to the court a few months later."

And let's not even discuss this TV commercial for the now-defunct Bradlees discount department stores.

Sloop, I believe Red never got onto the plane.

Sam

Beat,

I guess everyone knows that Cowens slept on a Boston Public Garden the night after winning one championship.  Another tidbit is that he never unlisted his Canton (about 18 miles outside of Boston) phone number.

I wish he were a bigger part of the Celtics family now.  In fact, I'd be willing to wager a small amount of money that, if he had been in there last night down the stretch—even at his age—the last three minutes wouldn't have seen the Celtics outscored 9-0.  (I'm sure some wise guy will post that I'm right....it would have been 20-0.)

But Dave was one Celt over the years who I felt possessed the smouldering intensity that pervaded earlier Celtics teams.  And I also believe it was whenever the embers started to cool that he took a break in one way or another.  It didn't seem within his capability to play up to his standards without the fire in his belly.

Sam

I think Cowens really took that break because he was pissed that Red let his partner in crime Paul Maul Silas leave after the 76 championship season, Silas played as good as I ever saw him play that championship playoff run and had enough left to be a valuable rotation player on another championship team a few seasons later. Had Red kept Silas and Paul Westphal, I think that team had another deep run left.

During the short, all too short time I lived in Boston 1972-73 (actually in Auburndale) I was able to go to some games in the old Gahden. That was during the Cowens years and I never saw before or have seen since a player that plays or played with Cowens' intensity. He was absolutely awesome. I loved the old Garden. At that time seats up on the top (I still don't know today how I found my way up to my seat or got out after the game) where relatively cheap. Fenway Park was also a joy. The fans were so knowledgeable and so funny. Also remember a sports commentator on radio, Eddie Andelman was his name, I think. Man was he a riot to listen to. It's hard to believe that that all happened 40 years ago or that I've been in Berlin for almost 35 years. Sorry but nostalgia also has its place in life.

Berlin,

I was sitting in one of those "seats up on the top" at a U2 concert in the early 90s when I climbed up on the railing at the very top, grabbed a rafter and hung from the rafter.

Update on Eddie Andelman.  I saw reports of his death, but nothing official.  I believe he's still living at age 83.  His last radio show is listed as having occurred on December 26, 2010.

In addition to being a controversial talk show figure (he had a huge feud with Glenn Ordway), he was noted for his philanthropic work.  He was a Jimmy Fund Man of the Year, a Joey Fund/Cystic Fibrosis Man of the Year, and a Big Brother Man of the Year.

His son, David, initiated The Phantom Gourmet television show, which basically reviews restaurants.  It has been on Boston television for several seasons.  I'm not sure whether it's still running, but they're very active in running events such as food fests.

And I agree that Fenway is a joy.  When I walk through a little entrance tunnel and the green grass comes into view, I invariably get a tear in my eye.  You're comment on nostalgia is right-on.  At that moment, I guess I'm hit with a combination of gratitude for what the past has given me and a sense of my own mortality.

Sam

berlin you got to see a running team that played at a breakneck speed on offense and a punishing defensive team, with great inside and perimeter defense that led to their breakneck offense, I grew up watching/following that team....Cowens was such an animal, I absolutely loved him. The way he used tenacity and mobility to control the middle, we'll never see another 6'9" defensive force like that ever.

Speaking of those 70 celts how about JoJo White being neglected for the Hall Of Fame. During the years 1950-51 through 1980-81, 31 players were selected to the All-Star team 7 times or more. 29 are in the HOF. LARRY FOUST with 8 selections and JOJO with 7 are not. Way, way overdue.
swish

Swish, I'm afraid that the sheer number of Celtics in the HOF combines with latent antipathy for the Celtics in many quarters of the league to create an extremely conservative outlook on additional Celtics selections.

Sam