Danny must act now

[KGs Knee]

I think top tier free agents sign contracts where they will be comfortable playing, where they can max out their money, and where they feel they will have an eventual chance to win it all because they trust the organization.

Let's not forget that Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett all recently signed extensions of their contracts or signed new contracts when they were free agents to stay in Boston. If the city of Boston was such a problem for them, they never mentioned it. If anything they promoted what a great place Boston was to live and play in.

Also, Al Jefferson signed big bucks to go to Charlotte. Josh Smith did the same to go to Detroit.  Dwight Howard turned down the Lakers. There is a ton of evidence that countermands the idea that only warm weather big city markets are they only places stars will choose.

And absolutely none of that has anything to do with fact that Boston is a big market destination, in every sport that Boston has teams in.Boston is a large market sports city, thinking otherwise you may as well think Santa Claus exists because you are believing in something that just isn't, that being Boston is a small market city.

Spot on

[guava_wrench]

There's no need to act impatiently or rashly here.  If he finds a deal he likes, he'll take it.  Otherwise, I don't see a pressing need to make any moves just for the sake of it, certainly not for the sake of getting worse.

I disagree.  Your dream scenario (standing pat and making the playoffs with a below .500 record) represents what I see as the absolute worst-case scenario for this team.

O.k., then, I'll put you in the corner of being staunchly in favor of "rashness and impatience."

Haha. Agreed.

I have been pro-trade for the future all season, but I have been against selling low as well. Dumping young talent for the sake of a worse record is not a smart move. You may end up with the same record, but with less assets. You are also still at the mercy of the lottery. Talent you already have is 100% your asset, unlike the probabilities involved in the lottery.

[cometboy]

If you're Dwight or LeBron, you can write your ticket anywhere you want. If you have an opportunity to play with a couple of good friends who happen to be very good at what they do, build a dynasty for a few years, and go clubbing in perfect weather, how could anyone resist.

However, there aren't many LeBron's and Dwight's who can literally play anywhere they want (if the money is offered). Trust me, a promising young HC who isn't an idiot, a good, young nucleus, a GM who appears to know what he's doing, owner's willing to make the requisite commitment, many first round picks over the next few years..........

I think Boston will be attractive to a lot of very good players. The bigger problem for some players, who are unfamiliar with Boston, is getting past the (mostly) outdated stigma often associated with this city.

CB

[cb8883]

I think top tier free agents sign contracts where they will be comfortable playing, where they can max out their money, and where they feel they will have an eventual chance to win it all because they trust the organization.

Let's not forget that Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett all recently signed extensions of their contracts or signed new contracts when they were free agents to stay in Boston. If the city of Boston was such a problem for them, they never mentioned it. If anything they promoted what a great place Boston was to live and play in.

Also, Al Jefferson signed big bucks to go to Charlotte. Josh Smith did the same to go to Detroit.  Dwight Howard turned down the Lakers. There is a ton of evidence that countermands the idea that only warm weather big city markets are they only places stars will choose.

And absolutely none of that has anything to do with fact that Boston is a big market destination, in every sport that Boston has teams in.Boston is a large market sports city, thinking otherwise you may as well think Santa Claus exists because you are believing in something that just isn't, that being Boston is a small market city.

Dwight made it painfully clear that he didn't want to stay in LA if Pringles stayed coach. Houston last time I checked had great weather and is an emerging town that is attractive for young people. Everything Boston is not. One poster mentioned this and I agree with it. You never hear about stars yearning to play for Boston or that they try to force to play with Rondo in Boston. Also Pierce was drafted by Boston and only stayed once the Celtics acquired KG. The same KG that fought like hell to play with Kobe only to have to accept a trade to Boston after rejecting them once. But people seem to forget that his first option was to become a Laker...selective memory.

[KGs Knee]

I think top tier free agents sign contracts where they will be comfortable playing, where they can max out their money, and where they feel they will have an eventual chance to win it all because they trust the organization.

Let's not forget that Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett all recently signed extensions of their contracts or signed new contracts when they were free agents to stay in Boston. If the city of Boston was such a problem for them, they never mentioned it. If anything they promoted what a great place Boston was to live and play in.

Also, Al Jefferson signed big bucks to go to Charlotte. Josh Smith did the same to go to Detroit.  Dwight Howard turned down the Lakers. There is a ton of evidence that countermands the idea that only warm weather big city markets are they only places stars will choose.

And absolutely none of that has anything to do with fact that Boston is a big market destination, in every sport that Boston has teams in.Boston is a large market sports city, thinking otherwise you may as well think Santa Claus exists because you are believing in something that just isn't, that being Boston is a small market city.

Dwight made it painfully clear that he didn't want to stay in LA if Pringles stayed coach. Houston last time I checked had great weather and is an emerging town that is attractive for young people. Everything Boston is not. One poster mentioned this and I agree with it. You never hear about stars yearning to play for Boston or that they try to force to play with Rondo in Boston.

I certainly do not discount the warm weather factor, but you are simply over-blowing it.  Not every star chooses to play in those cities, though many do.

The fact is, Boston is a larger market than Houston is.  Houston has the weather and nightlife on it's side, but those weren't the reasons Dwight chose to play there.  He went to Houston because he felt they gave him the best chance at winning.

EDIT:  As to your "KG refused to come to Boston" point, you seem to be the one with selective memory.  KG 'refused' because he didn't think it was a good enough situation to win a title, he felt LA offered the better opportunity to win.  KG ultimately chose Boston because the Ray Allen trade convinced him Boston offered the better chance at winning.

Point being, KG chose winning over weather,

[BballTim]

I think top tier free agents sign contracts where they will be comfortable playing, where they can max out their money, and where they feel they will have an eventual chance to win it all because they trust the organization.

Let's not forget that Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett all recently signed extensions of their contracts or signed new contracts when they were free agents to stay in Boston. If the city of Boston was such a problem for them, they never mentioned it. If anything they promoted what a great place Boston was to live and play in.

Also, Al Jefferson signed big bucks to go to Charlotte. Josh Smith did the same to go to Detroit.  Dwight Howard turned down the Lakers. There is a ton of evidence that countermands the idea that only warm weather big city markets are they only places stars will choose.

And absolutely none of that has anything to do with fact that Boston is a big market destination, in every sport that Boston has teams in.Boston is a large market sports city, thinking otherwise you may as well think Santa Claus exists because you are believing in something that just isn't, that being Boston is a small market city.

Dwight made it painfully clear that he didn't want to stay in LA if Pringles stayed coach. Houston last time I checked had great weather and is an emerging town that is attractive for young people. Everything Boston is not. One poster mentioned this and I agree with it. You never hear about stars yearning to play for Boston or that they try to force to play with Rondo in Boston. Also Pierce was drafted by Boston and only stayed once the Celtics acquired KG. The same KG that fought like hell to play with Kobe only to have to accept a trade to Boston after rejecting them once. But people seem to forget that his first option was to become a Laker...selective memory.

  You hear about plenty of the free agents we do sign talking about wanting to play in Boston and wanting to play with Rondo. You don't hear it a lot from the stars that say "I'll only play in NY or LA" but probably more than you think, at least in terms of "sure, I'd play there with the right offer". We don't ever have a ton of cap space. Again, though, you're ignoring free agents that re-sign with the celts when they have plenty of other options. Also, you're giving all these reasons why Dwight would want to play in Houston when he made it very clear he didn't want to be traded there the year before. All you're doing is saying "I don't think players would want to go to Boston, therefore it's true and all players think that way" again and again.

[Celtics18]

Boston is far from a small market NBA team. they have the sixth largest media market in the US and a rabid money spending sports viewership marketplace. They have around the 10th highest ticket price in the NBA and are one of the few NBA teams that holds an equity partnership with their television broadcasting partners.

The Celtics are worth more than 27-28 other NBA teams and has been a regular payer of the luxury tax without it being a problem while they have been contending.

This team is not afraid to spend money to put a winner on the floor and win championships. That can't be said for about 25 or so other teams in the league.

The reason for a lack of free agents is because the Celtics have been over the salary cap for what has been well over a decade acting like a big market team, spending money to put a winner on the floor.If you are spending monet trying to win and constantly in the luxury tax, it means you are not way under the salary cap and hence have no way of signing a big name free agent.

The Celtics have never tried to clear enough cap space to get so far under the cap to sign someone because that means allowing assets to walk in free agency, not resigning your own star players you have developed through the draft and trading away players to get nothing in return.

If you have followed Danny Ainge's management philosophy, that isn't his style. He doesn't let players walk unless they are outpricing themselves and he doesn't trade players away for nothing and he tries like heck to resign his excellent well developed drafted players so that he can get them to play well in Boston or to trade away to get some other asset.

Don't conflate Boston not signing big name free agents recently with not being a big market team because quite honestly, before Steve Nash, the Lakers haven't exactly been signing big name free agents recently either. Bynum, Gasol, Kobe, Shaq, Gasol....none of the Lakers biggest names during the 2000's were signed as free agents and yet, no one is accusing the Lakers of being a small market team.

Shaq didn't leave Orlando as a free agent for the Lakers?! Really? Malone Payton also joined as free agents (that team did make the finals) you cannot compare LA and Boston because there is no comparison. Free agents love the bright lights of LA. They love endorsements and movie roles and the glitz of the area. Same as in NY. Boston would never be able to compete with those locations. Think about it. Say you're an NBA player and you have no family ties to Miami or Boston but both are offering the same amount of money. Where do you go? A young NBA player...come on its a rhetorical question. South Beach or the Cape? Weather is a major factor whether you want to admit it or not.

If you challenge others to name good young players, then you need to hold yourself to the same standard. You do not get to use a 35yr old Gary Payton and a 40-year old Karl Malone as examples. If you do, then Shaq signed as a free agent with the Celtics.

The statement was all free agents. I limited it to young free agents. My post on Payton and Malone was a response to the ridiculous statement that the Lakers haven't signed any high profile free agents. Besides for all of you non tankers out there I have a simple question. If Boston is a great destination then how come Melo isn't knocking down the door to come here? He wants to play with Rondo that bad...right? Because Boston has nothing to offer for elite players. Just admit it and let's get on with the conversations

Not just Melo, no one is or has considered Boston as a top tier FA. Dwight Howard was very clear that he had no interest in Boston, despite the reputation we had with KG and Doc still around, and Rondo.

Melo, who really wants to play with Rondo, never once considered coming here.

Josh Smith, who is not even a top tier FA, but is a close friend of Rondo, never talked about coming here.

These are just very recent examples. There is no example in the past of any top tier FA ever saying he was seriously considering Boston. I don't know why people still think otherwise. It's well known that the top FA spots are LA, NY, and Miami. Weather and media exposure are huge factors. When your a young talented guy entering your prime, the flash and glam and the nightlife will attract you, not the bitter winters and hard nosed life of Boston.

Sure. In a vacuum, players will choose the better destination. Of course, Kareem went to the Lakers.

To some players, being in a big warm city will always trump everything.

But the CBA is designed precisely to counteract this. With the new revision, teams have to get even savvier. The game is changing with the new CBA, from what I've seen more rewarding to good management and less to other factors.

At the end of the day there will never truly be parity but being an "FA destination" should be a decreasingly important factor. Boston may have to try that much harder to be attractive but it's not impossible.

Other than changing the weather pattern, firing all the writers, and keeping bars and clubs open until 6 am there is really nothing Boston can do. They cannot match up with the cities that are vacation destinations. You're a 25 year old free agent...where would you like to spend your next 6 years? If you say Boston then you're full of it.

When I was in my mid-twenties I went out to LA to work, stayed there for a couple of months, and had the opportunity to stay and work and live there.  In the end, I decided to come back to New England.  I didn't really like that place very much.  It turned out I am more of an East Coast guy.  I couldn't imagine making southern California my permanent home. 

Obviously, that's just me, and I would never claim to speak for everybody.  But, I would imagine that even some professional basketball players would prefer to live here in beautiful New England than out in la la land. 

Heck, if you're making millions of dollars a year, you can even afford to get someone to shovel your driveway in the winter and get a car with really good snow tires. 

[oldtype]

Geography is just one of many factors players take into consideration. Players also want to be on competitive teams with good management. Otherwise nobody other than New York or LA would ever sign free agents and we all know that isn't true.

And even if location is king, Boston is still a bigger market than about 80% of NBA cities. Fans of most other teams would laugh at Boston fans whining about being in a "small market."

[Onslaught]

If Indiana can build a strong team and get people to play for them then Boston can.

[LarBrd33]

If Indiana can build a strong team and get people to play for them then Boston can.

Indiana needed to get lucky and have a phenom fall to #10.

[Birdman]

If Indiana can build a strong team and get people to play for them then Boston can.

Indiana needed to get lucky and have a phenom fall to #10.

We did with Paul Pierce

[LarBrd33]

If Indiana can build a strong team and get people to play for them then Boston can.

Indiana needed to get lucky and have a phenom fall to #10.

We did with Paul Pierce

First we need a top 10 pick... then we need a lot of GMs to make some really stupid decisions.

[Celtics18]

If Indiana can build a strong team and get people to play for them then Boston can.

Indiana needed to get lucky and have a phenom fall to #10.

Can't do it without a little luck. 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/king/video/russian-police-choir-performs-get-lucky-opening-ceremony

Credit to PhoSita.