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Ainge: C’s value some targets more than Brooklyn pick

John - Red's Army (@RedsArmy_John) February 16, 2016 Rumors 15 Comments

Tick

All is quiet on the Celtics trade rumor front… which could mean nothing because there’s no hint of actual talks… but also could mean everything because the Celtics are great at keeping secrets.

Whatever the actual case might be, Danny Ainge has let it be known, via the Globe, that he’d trade the ~~holy grail~~ Brooklyn pick this year for the right guy

The Celtics could have eight picks in next June’s draft, none more valuable than the unprotected first-round choice they will receive from the Nets. Brooklyn is currently tied with the Suns for the third-worst record in the NBA. Ainge said teams have inquired about that Brooklyn pick, and he understands its worth.

“We know it’s important, but it’s not untouchable, either,” Ainge said. “It’s important and it has value for us. It’s not the most important value. We have some players we value more than we value the Brooklyn pick.

“We’re listening to teams that call and ask us, whatever assets we may have. There are players we would trade the Brooklyn pick for, and many players that we wouldn’t.”

Like I’ve said before, my feeling is that the Nets pick is off the table for any 30-year-old targets who may become free agents (like Al Horford) but it’s in play for 25-ish year old players with years left on their deals (Blake Griffin? Gordon Hayward?)

There is the little matter of who might ACTUALLY be available. Horford seems to be the hottest of the rumors but beyond that, who knows. We discuss the possibilities at length on the latest Rainin’ J’s podcast. But it’s pretty clear that Ainge is sending a message to teams thinking long and hard about re-shaping their roster…. you can ask about the Nets pick. Ainge is listening.

BIG_HITTA1

I would love to really know what Danny thinks the current roster is capable of accomplishing. At the beginning of Dec, the C’s sleep-walked to a 15 game 5 – 10 record. Consensus was the roster had way too many of the same type of average at best, inconsistent players. And players were complaining about playing time, no set rotation, Stevens was being mildy questioned, etc. Suddenly they go 13 – 4 in last 17 games and become the cat’s meow. Is this a smoke & mirrors b.s. stretch?? And Danny isn’t fooled into attempting to shoot for a run at the East Conf Finals (via a many asset trade) as he knows the team really isn’t fundamentally good enough to win the east with whomever stays on the roster plus whomever he gets in return? Does anyone have an opinion as to why the 5 – 10 team suddenly went 13 – 4? What did the C’s start doing or stop doing to get this good??
- Rod Shaftwell
  
  I think a lot of it had to do with Brad experimenting with all of these players we have. He was trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t, and because of that there were no set rotations and our guys couldn’t get used to playing the winning basketball they’re playing now. Injuries to Marcus and Avery didn’t help either.
  
  It’s no coincidence that as the rotations became more consistent, and Brad figured out who to use when, they started playing really well.
  - KGino
    
    Stopped playing David Lee, RJ Hunter, inserted Sully back into the starting line up, started using Zeller off the bench again, AB & Smart healthy, the emergence of Crowder as a starter-level SF to name a few.
    
    I don’t think this is a smoke and mirrors b.s. stretch… I think the Celtics are capable of maintaining this level for the regular season. The only thing that worries me is idk how effective their game will be in the playoffs. 1.) They haven’t handled any of their home & home games vs. inferior teams well (playoffs essentially are a longer home & home series) 2.) Playoff basketball is a slower pace, and our offense is not great in the half court. 3.) Our strength really is in numbers, our bench being better than most. In the playoffs, rotations get even tighter, and the bench won’t have as much time to have an impact on the games.
    
    P.S. Stevens should never be even mildly questioned. Anyone questioning him during that stretch is an occasional fan, not a real one.
    
    I think Danny knows this team (as currently constructed) will probably have to battle its way into the 2nd round, would need some luck to make ECF, and even if they made it that far would eventually be eliminated by the Refs & CLE. Whatever move he makes should be taking into consideration next year and the years after, not so much this year
    - Jake Gruber
      
      As a lifelong Celtic fan who watches almost every game, I disagree with your comment about Stevens not being mildly questioned. No coach is free of any questioning and the team, as a fact, was not performing up to standards at that time. They had the same talent as they do now, and were playing significantly worse. That was in part due to the coaching, without question. Stevens has done a TREMENDOUS job since then, but there is no doubt that both he and the players were struggling to identify how to win with this team at the beginning of the year and until this recent stretch.
      - KGino
        
        I’ve been a lifelong Celtics fan who watches every second of every game and BS is the best Celtics coach I’ve seen in my lifetime. People were calling for him to be fired in that stretch, absolutely ridiculous. What I meant is he should never be mildly questioned as coach of this team… And you can nitpick at a 15 game stretch when we weren’t healthy all you want, this guy has us as a 3 seed right now after already over achieving last year. Nobody is perfect. I trust whole heartedly in this guy
        
        Also, they had the recipe early in the season and we’re playing the same aggressive perimeter D they are now. That was more of a slump than something that had been happening all year up until this recent stretch
    - BIG_HITTA1
      
      Rod & KGino – good stuff above from each of you.
      ROD – I agree the increase in consistent rotations has helped plus I think Marcus has picked up his game (particularly his shooting) now as when he first returned he was not excelling in many areas of his game.
      KGINO – I agree it is likely this team is hitting its stride and it is not a b.s. good streak. While I don’t think they are a .765 club (which 13 – 4 is) they have the talent to remain closer to this current level of play and should be embarrassed to fall back to anything close to the type of ball displayed during the 5 – 10 streak. AB has really picked up his game recently and I agree Zeller finally getting some time on the floor is a good move. I feared Zeller was rotting at the end of the bench and wasn’t getting the time he deserved to show his talent and consistency. He has made a big dif the last 5 games or so. I also think Danny must consider the next 2 to 5 yrs if he pulls the trigger on a deal where he flips a large # of his assets. Danny cannot mortgage the future for a potential run at getting into the East Conf finals this year. He needs to be CHAMPIONSHIP driven and if it takes 3+ yrs to get the next ring then we need to wait it out as the C’s re-build.
art

If anything happens, it will be an opportunistic type of deal like the Thomas trade last year. I believe Danny learned a hard lesson when he made that horrific Perkins trade mid-season a few years back. The chances are high that nothing will happen this year unless another team decides to unload. The Brooklyn pick is going nowhere regardless.
C M

Sorry to change the subject but can anyone explain to me why we drafted Rozier?? I’m still scratching my head on this one. I could have seen if we traded Bradley or someone to better our team but….. We could have gotten Portis!
- GeorgeBush
  
  Probably, despite we have too many guards, Danny recognized Rozier as the biggest available talent at that moment. And Portis wasn’t regarded then as a player he is now. It’s same shit if someone ask why Pistons took Milicic instead of D.Wade or Melo. They just saw a better player in Darko. Draft is always a little bit like having a guess.
  - C M
    
    Thanks George! I know what you’re saying about, sometimes not getting what you thought was a sure bet but still, why would we get a guard (Rozier) when we were overcrowded in the first place.
    
    From what I remember, all the basketball analyst were totally shocked when the pick was made. I didn’t hear one of them say, Rozier was the best player available. Jordan MIckey has much more of a future that Rozier and I’m surprise, they haven’t given him more time on the court since his rebounding is terrific.
    - GeorgeBush
      
      As I said before, draft is like having a guess so is my answer for your comment. We can only speculate. Who knows what Danny had in his mind during the draft night. Maybe, Rozier was to be the element of some trade which was to be made during draft night or smh. Who knows. I just hope Rozier won’t be another Fab Melo, the short one…
  - art
    
    That’s not true. Portis was at the top or near the top of the available players at the time of the Rozier pick. I was stumped but assumed there was something Danny and the front office did not like about Portis. It’s still early to really know and Danny is a pretty good drafter, but I do hope that Rozier will not become a gigantic faux pas.
    - GeorgeBush
      
      Yup, sure, I agree with you that Portis was at the top of the available guys, even in some mocks he was predicted as a choice for Boston as I remember. But c’mon, you don’t expect to select a super star with the 16th pick so Danny could just gamble on Rozier with this pick. And nobody could be sure that Portis evolves in the way he does. And I don’t defend Danny’s choice, I would definitely swap Rozier for Portis. If we take into consideration the number of our guards I am just wondering why Danny made this selection happen.
      - art
        
        If you’re going to gamble, you would usually gamble on the big, not a small guard projected to be picked late In the first round. It would be good to hear Danny or someone else in the front office discuss the Rozier pick and why Portis was passed on. Otherwise, at least for now, we’re left wondering.
C M

I know I’m going to get heavily criticized but I wish we kept Perry Jones. I think, given the time and minutes to be with the team, he would be a better contributor than Rozier and maybe even Hunter. Definitely, he would hep us more than Lee since he has the length and athleticism. I hope he gets another shot with us.