Loyalty to free agent signings over home grown players?

[RodyTur10]

A lot of NBA journalists, followers and fans still bring up the Isaiah Thomas trade to Cleveland as an example of the ruthlessness by Danny Ainge, but also as a sign of disloyalty. This marquee trade is used as an illustration of the disloyalty by the Celtics franchise to its players and as a reason why superstars would be reluctant to want to play in Boston or sign in free agency. This is a narrative driven by a lot of people who often don't have the best interests at heart for the Celtics and is probably overdone.

On the other hand the Lakers are deemed as a loyal franchise. They gave Kobe Bryant a huge contract past his prime and stood by him till his retirement.

But I question why a free agent signing or a star should be shown more loyalty than drafted players that have been homegrown and often gave years of their career to the franchise, without special financial incentive. How is dumping D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle or Ivica Zubac for quick improvement not regarded as disloyal?

With trade proposals often posters are reluctant to include Kemba Walker or Gordon Hayward based on the argument that it would look bad on the Celtics to trade away a free agent signing as it would discourage other players to sign here because of the disloyalty shown by management. But how about players that have played multiple years for the franchise and often were underpaid during their rookie contracts?

How would players view that? You're underpaid during your early years in the NBA, you have to fight for your minutes and reputation, need to accommadate your play to the coaches system and then you get dropped or traded when you're up for a big payday.

I think as a GM you shouldn't care about any of that stuff. But if you do factor in loyalty, I think you look at what players have done for the franchise so far, so Smart/Brown/Tatum would be on the top of that list. Those three are the keepers in my opinion, but that's more about their talent, age and roles.

[Csfan1984]

I'll just say when DA took over he dumped a lot of guys that helped the team get to an ECF two years before hand.

We just saw the same thing happen but instead of him gutting 70% of the roster he signed a max player and believed in them because they were his guys.


Depending on who picks the players on draft night seems to matter.

[NKY fan]

I think trading a max signing free agent for a positive or a big return is a little unethical.
The free agent chose your club and if his production is more valuable than his contract then in theory you have a trading asset. So getting a big return in exchange for that asset that came out of nowhere to your franchise has bad optics.

[tazzmaniac]

What journalists?  I haven't seen much at all about that narrative.  The Lakers don't have a good history with free agents.  Getting Lebron was huge but who was there 2nd best free agent signing in the past decade? 

Horford, Hayward and Kemba are much better free agent signings than most teams get.  Much better than the Lakers if you exclude Lebron. 

As for the trade proposals on here, they are generally pretty bad.  Ainge wouldn't hesitate to trade Hayward or Kemba if he thought it would help win a championship. 

[Smartacus]

I beleive that we have given Hayward all the chance he could ask for. His legacy here will be one of the biggest 'what ifs' in Boston sports history.

This year was the final straw.

The fans did not have unreasonable expectations. Most of the discourse I heard
centered around simply wanting him to contribute and support Tatum and Brown as they make their next steps.

No one was saying he was a bum. All anyone wanted was solid, if overpriced, production. That's why the ankle sprain at the start of the playoffs was so devastating and in my opinion should be the factor that leads to him being traded this offseason.

It's no one's fault, but a split is what's best for both parties. Hayward needs a legitimate rehabilitation. He needs a place where he can thrive in low expectations and rebuild his value for his next and final contract. He cannot do that here and conversely he cannot provide what Boston needs.

Let's move on and move forward.

As for Kemba thats different, he does deserve one more chance to prove he can be the Kemba of old.

By all accounts he chose us over the Lakers and his hometown Knicks. He chose the Celtics because the organization lines up with his core values.

He rescued the team from an ugly rebuild and kept us relevant in a year where we had a legitimate chance at a title. He stoked our forward momentum allowing Tatum and Brown to gain invaluable experience on the biggest stage.

Not to mention he is also an undeniable factor in a potential legandary rivalry with Brooklyn. Kyrie vs Kemba. New York vs New Jersey. Consummate Boston guy vs the Villain.

Run it back with Kemba. Trade for someone who can produce what Hayward couldn't. Let Tatum and Brown emerge as the top young duo in the league.

[LilRip]

Are we really wondering why trading IT4 was different from trading D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac?

IT4 - despite only having a short stint here - became the face of the franchise and a cult hero. At least that was the narrative (I think DA always viewed JB and JT as our real franchise players). None of the Lakers above had the level of impact IT had on their franchise. Plus, it’s not like the C’s were in a “rebuild” mode either, which is usually the time when teams “unload” their star players for a future looking package. The C’s were winning.