Last season Ainge said he made a mistake by not doing anything at the trade deadline even if the team was clearly in need of changes.
I don't think Ainge will repeat the mistake of last season.
Celtics losing games in January is a good thing because it will force Ainge to make the necessary changes needed to win in the playoffs.
You mean like all of the changes they made last year when the team was struggling a bit and everyone else was getting better.
That's what he's saying. DA said it was a mistake to ride it out hoping a(more talented team one paper) would figure it out come playoffs.
This year the bench is weak. Smart, Lander are the only legit bench players. The Williams are to young to be counted on that much to be the 3 and 4th guys off the bench every night. Ones hurt, so he's no help anyways.
I think our starters have too much pressure to do things right because the bench can't always be counted on. They play too tight.
Either we have to give up some of our young guys, maybe smart, memph pic for some legit help.
Or we have to accept that a title run isn't going to happen this year and they found out the bench next summer.
Irving and Hosrford leaving handcuffed DA getting bench help this summer. We were lucky to get Jenna and Kanter.
Or Ainge will reach the same conclusion that he did last year i.e. the team isn't good enough, and he will sit it out again.
We'll get the final answer in 2 and a half weeks.
Last season Ainge didn't do anything because he was all in on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes.
This year the Celts will not be players in free-agency as they don't have the cap space to sign a big name free-agent.
So there's nothing to look forward to in the summer.
Hoping that a miracle happens after the season?
The offseason is always easier to address team issues than in season. Next summer, the team will have any uncertainty with Hayward's contract taken care of. Jaylen's poison Pill Provision is gone if you want to move him in a package for a superstar. We will know about what happens with the Memphis pick finally(whether we get it this year or next and where it lands if it conveys this year). We will have the non taxpayer's MLE. Tatum should be secured for the future. Danny can move some of these bench contracts for experienced bench players while possibly using the wealth of draft picks we have at draft time to trade up for a really good player. There is lots of stuff Danny can do during the offseason to upgrade this team. Moreso than he can in season.
Why would you even think about trading Jaylen Brown when the Celts got him at a reasonable price?
There's no uncertainty about Hayward's contract.
Right now it's very clear that Hayward will most likely not reach All-Star form again.
Jaylen is already better than Hayward, so Hayward is already expendable.
There's just no point in having a lineup of Kemba, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and Smart at Center in the last 4 minutes of a game.
That's just not going to work.
Celts are better off having a true Center instead of using undersized players as Centers.
Modeling the Celtics after the GSW dynasty is just not working because the Celts don't have Steph and Klay.
Kemba is no Steph.
Hayward or Brown is no Klay.
And Tatum is no KD at this point in time.
The Memphis pick is just a bonus so it's really not a big deal at this stage, when the Celts are already in the hunt.
Jesus, Fierce. I really don't want to talk about, nor am I going to talk about, your agenda that you want to push down everyone's throat by bringing it up in virtually every post you make, while hijacking every thread you can.
But, to address the subject at hand, which was Danny not making a trade now versus waiting for offseason, I brought up Brown being easier to trade because if someone wanted to trade us KAT, or Embiid, or Jokic, or Beal, you know, someone of that caliber, you are probably going to need salary and a stud young guy going back. That would mean Brown. If a team would take Hayward instead, great, but I don't think Hayward lands you those type of guys.So... Brown would need to go.
The reason it will be good to know about Hayward's contract is because right now his contract is problematic due to the fact that Hayward has given no indication whether he will opt out of his last year or not. Is he an expiring contract or a guy that isn't worth the money for his total contract? Add the fact it's public knowledge he has some possible long term problems in his foot due to the leg break and his value is low and the likelihood of a trade now extremely unlikely.
But in the offseason most of those questions and problems with Hayward can be addressed for good, leading to a whole lot of options for Ainge going forward.
And knowing whether we get the Memphis pick and where we get it gives a real value to the pick that Danny can use in a trade. Or let him decide to keep it and move the other 2 picks instead. Doesn't matter. But knowing where it will land helps in the long term planning as a whole.
These are things that Danny is probably considering before making moves in the season, as a knee jerk reaction to a couple of weeks of less than stellar play during a rough stretch of the schedule. He could still make a trade this season, but it will be small and not a difference maker. Decisions on difference makers will be made in the off season. That's pretty much Danny's M.O.