Remember that 12 years ago? The Eastern Conference may have been even more mediocre than it is now (at least there are the Heat and Pacers this season) and the Celtics ownership thought they could make a run in the playoffs and get some cash. They traded a promising young player in Joe Johnson for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers, then proceeded to lose in the ECF to a team that was predictably destroyed by the Lakers.
To make matters worse, that offseason management refused to re-sign Rogers and he left for the team that beat the Celts, the Nets! This destroyed any remaining illusion that Gaston might value winning over the bottom line.
The similarly poor East this year reminded me of that season and I'm so relieved we have management that drafts well and has a long-term strategy in place. Even though I believe they started rebuilding a year too late (a misleading Heat series contributed to them spending a bunch of money on Terry and Lee and extending Bass and Garnett), I don't think anyone can be displeased with what they were still able to get in the Brooklyn deal.
Let's not overrate the current team just because the East is bad. They only have one win against the West this year and it was against Utah. Judge the Celts by a leaguewide, championship standard and you'll see why Ainge won't be making any moves this year that do not benefit the team long-term.