~ Danny Freaking Ainge!!

[Off The Grid]

I'm not backing off from this past Summer's argument wherein I argued that the Celtics should've held the Cavaliers' feet to the fire because they pretty much had to trade Kyrie Irving.

Mind you: I never said naught but that I've greatly admired Ainge's Body of Work. His persistent refusal to make a trade just to make a trade over the last few years ~ while thousands have been screaming for'm to mortgage the Future for good, not great, players ~ has been awesome.

But this ~ mind you: it's early, yet, and I'm gonna take a moment to knock on wood!! ~ may prove to be one'f'is finest coups of all: surrendering the coveted 2019 Brooklyn Pick to get Irving, which he'd hitherto refused to deal in perhaps a thousand trades ~ and nobody wailed louder than I when he did so!! ~ while retaining the allegedly lesser 2019 Lakers Pick.

For those scoring at home: The Brooklyn Pick is now tracking at #11.

The Lakers Pick? #2.

There's a lot'f of BasketBall yet to be played, and then there's the Lottery...And of course the Pick isn't ours if it goes #1...But just wow. Ainge's work has been simply masterful.

 

[Flash]

One Marvin Bagley or Luka Doncic please (I'd be good with Bamba as well).

 

[BTTA]

I'm not backing off from this past Summer's argument wherein I argued that the Celtics should've held the Cavaliers' feet to the fire because they pretty much had to trade Kyrie Irving.

Mind you: I never said naught but that I've greatly admired Ainge's Body of Work. His persistent refusal to make a trade just to make a trade over the last few years ~ while thousands have been screaming for'm to mortgage the Future for good, not great, players ~ has been awesome.

But this ~ mind you: it's early, yet, and I'm gonna take a moment to knock on wood!! ~ may prove to be one'f'is finest coups of all: surrendering the coveted 2019 Brooklyn Pick to get Irving, which he'd hitherto refused to deal in perhaps a thousand trades ~ and nobody wailed louder than I when he did so!! ~ while retaining the allegedly lesser 2019 Lakers Pick.

For those scoring at home: The Brooklyn Pick is now tracking at #11.

The Lakers Pick? #2.

There's a lot'f of BasketBall yet to be played, and then there's the Lottery...And of course the Pick isn't ours if it goes #1...But just wow. Ainge's work has been simply masterful.

Yeah, OTG, this plus the development of this Celtic squad has brought much joy in the past few months. What a lovable team, and an excellent coach. Irving has shown a ton of character as a basketball player and a leader - who would have predicted that?

And barring tragedy, the team will be even better next year. Just wow.

Boston Sports Journal had a good article about theses draft picks recently, and are going to do a regular feature tracking the odds on the Lakers' pick and the lottery.

 

[The Scrizz]

I'll take Ayton or Bagley. Big man please. Bamba can't hit the side of a barn (although his D is sick). And Doncic seems very redundant on this team.

 

[mosey threetupu]

I'm not backing off from this past Summer's argument wherein I argued that the Celtics should've held the Cavaliers' feet to the fire because they pretty much had to trade Kyrie Irving.

Mind you: I never said naught but that I've greatly admired Ainge's Body of Work. His persistent refusal to make a trade just to make a trade over the last few years ~ while thousands have been screaming for'm to mortgage the Future for good, not great, players ~ has been awesome.

But this ~ mind you: it's early, yet, and I'm gonna take a moment to knock on wood!! ~ may prove to be one'f'is finest coups of all: surrendering the coveted 2019 Brooklyn Pick to get Irving, which he'd hitherto refused to deal in perhaps a thousand trades ~ and nobody wailed louder than I when he did so!! ~ while retaining the allegedly lesser 2019 Lakers Pick.

For those scoring at home: The Brooklyn Pick is now tracking at #11.

The Lakers Pick? #2.

There's a lot'f of BasketBall yet to be played, and then there's the Lottery...And of course the Pick isn't ours if it goes #1...But just wow. Ainge's work has been simply masterful.

It was easy to see the Nets pick would be borderline throwaway. That was before Lin was injured. That said IT is a tough SOB and people acting like he’s not really part of this trade are sorely mistaken.

 

[fair catch fryar]

He's very Belichick"esque" in regards to evaluating the best players for the Celtics and when to swing the right deals for picks and vice versa.

 

[condon84]

Bamba would be perfect. Athletic big man who Stevens can develop.

 

[BTTA]

He's very Belichick"esque" in regards to evaluating the best players for the Celtics and when to swing the right deals for picks and vice versa.

Agree. The ability to not have sentimentality play a role, or at least compartmentalize it, seems to be key to all the good GM's.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Agree. The ability to not have sentimentality play a role, or at least compartmentalize it, seems to be key to all the good GM's.

Absolutely. They seem to know exactly what they want and will sit pat even when everyone else pressures them. When he hired Brad Stevens after what he had accomplished with Doc, Garnett, Pierce and Allen and knowing that Rajon would fit in with those three was pretty remarkable. To see this team beginning to gel is pretty exciting.

 

[patsfan13]

Adding Heyward and another Top pick + development of the young players next year. This is gonna be a fun ride.

This year has been fun also with the way this group is playing,

 

[Kdo5]

I'll take Ayton or Bagley. Big man please. Bamba can't hit the side of a barn (although his D is sick). And Doncic seems very redundant on this team.

Remember that pick is protected (1st and I think 2nd). Ayton or Bagley might not even be available if that pick does convey.

 

[goheels22002]

No one has figured out how to rebuild like Danny Ainge has in the NBA. Danny would be a monster in the NFL where he does not have to worry about guaranteed contracts. If somebody in the NFL brought him in, the Belichick-Ainge battle for supremacy would be epic.

 

[Addictive]

Ainge has rebuilt better than anyone and he has built a contender for at least another decade. That's simply brilliant. However, signing Hayward is going to end up being his biggest mistake. $30 mil per season to a player who isn't a top 20 player yet is paid top 5 money. This was always going to be an issue but the horrendous injury makes it even more so.

The befuddling factor in this choice is emotion. Ainge has rebuilt the Celtics because he eschewed emotion, trading franchise cornerstones in order to strip down the current in order to build the new.

But emotion was involved in signing Hayward due to the Butler connection and Coach Stevens.

Hayward is a talented player who would be valuable on many teams but at half the salary he is being paid. The problem is going to be with fitting all the stars under the salary cap, luxury tax bills will likely have to be paid.

Utah centred everything around Hayward, they built their whole game and support network around him. They lifted him up and Hayward was able to raise his game. Hayward will prove to be an expensive luxury for the Celtics.

 

[captain insano]

I'm not backing off from this past Summer's argument wherein I argued that the Celtics should've held the Cavaliers' feet to the fire because they pretty much had to trade Kyrie Irving.

Mind you: I never said naught but that I've greatly admired Ainge's Body of Work. His persistent refusal to make a trade just to make a trade over the last few years ~ while thousands have been screaming for'm to mortgage the Future for good, not great, players ~ has been awesome.

But this ~ mind you: it's early, yet, and I'm gonna take a moment to knock on wood!! ~ may prove to be one'f'is finest coups of all: surrendering the coveted 2019 Brooklyn Pick to get Irving, which he'd hitherto refused to deal in perhaps a thousand trades ~ and nobody wailed louder than I when he did so!! ~ while retaining the allegedly lesser 2019 Lakers Pick.

For those scoring at home: The Brooklyn Pick is now tracking at #11.

The Lakers Pick? #2.

There's a lot'f of BasketBall yet to be played, and then there's the Lottery...And of course the Pick isn't ours if it goes #1...But just wow. Ainge's work has been simply masterful.

You will get no argument from me. I love Danny Ainge. He's done a masterful [bill Belichick] job with the Celtics. and in the most difficult league to be a GM. A+

 

[captain insano]

Remember that pick is protected (1st and I think 2nd). Ayton or Bagley might not even be available if that pick does convey.

It's not protected for the 2nd pick. if the pick falls between 2 and 5 it becomes the Celtics pick. if it falls anywhere else the Celtics get the kings pick the following year.

 

[rochrist]

One Marvin Bagley or Luka Doncic please (I'd be good with Bamba as well).

I'll take pretty much any of the top 6 at this point.

 

[rochrist]

Remember that pick is protected (1st and I think 2nd). Ayton or Bagley might not even be available if that pick does convey.

No, it's protect 1 and lower than 5. 2-5 it conveys.

 

[rochrist]

It was easy to see the Nets pick would be borderline throwaway. That was before Lin was injured. That said IT is a tough SOB and people acting like he’s not really part of this trade are sorely mistaken.

He'll make the Cavs already horrid defense that much worse.

 

[mosey threetupu]

He'll make the Cavs already horrid defense that much worse.

No doubt. He can also pour in 25 points in a quarter and LeBron for all his faults will feed him if he’s hot.

 

[rochrist]

No doubt. He can also pour in 25 points in a quarter and LeBron for all his faults will feed him if he’s hot.

Well, I'm dubious he'd do that well against one of the best defensive teams in the league, but assuming he does, the Cs win 128-120.