Tweets from Presser

[cltc5]

Team is tanking.  They can't admit they are tanking, but this team is completely designed to "lose with a purpose".

I'm sure Danny understands that in Boston, the fans can forgive a team that loses, as long as they fight hard.

If we send out a team of young guys who appear to be working their butts off, people will still buy in even if the team is losing 2 out of every 3 games.

Might hold people's interest better than the team did the last few regular seasons, where the team clearly coasted for long stretches of the regular season despite winning the solid majority of their games over that stretch.

Well said.  I think almost any game this year will be more exciting than last years.  I mean we may not win but at least we can see young guys develop and not watch us play for the 7th seed

[RJ87]

The Rondo thing is kind of amusing, though unsurprising.

I can imagine Rondo being a little bit excited about Pierce and KG leaving, initially thinking, alright yeah, this is my team now.  Let's get some of my friends on board!  Then he talks to Danny and realizes that no help is coming, and it's just him and Jeff and Avery and a bunch of flotsam for the next year or two.

It's also a bit unsettling. I guess expecting professional attitude from the team's marquee athlete is just unheard of. And by professional, I mean: I'm under contract, I'm a marquee player, I'll be all-in and not create a distraction regardless of who else is on the roster.

Well, I guess it's too much to expect for everyone to be Kevin Garnett.

  Are you complaining about what Rondo actually said, or just what some random poster imagined he might say? Because I don't think hoping your GM signs a few new players qualifies as "unprofessional".

So Rondo's a bad guy for wanting some help? People do realize other players (Dwight, LeBron, even the almighty Chris Paul) have abandoned franchises because they didn't get help? After publicly holding their respective franchises hostage for months, that is. I'm not gonna be mad at him for PRIVATELY talking with his GM about adding pieces, it's not like he's going to the media.

Also, didn't KG say we needed more to compete next in his final post game interview this season?

[nickagneta]

I am sure people will be all over this but, I just do not understand the logic of trading a 27 year old, 4 time All-Star who is just entering his prime and is under contract for two more years on a bargain contract. You really need to be getting back a player better than Rondo on a max or near max contract or someone almost as good as Rondo on a better value contract to come close to getting fair value.

I believe Danny. He's not trading Rondo. He cleared out all the old guys so now we have one of the youngest teams in the league and he's clearing out salary and money to get out of luxury tax hell and get some cap space.

Will that mean mediocrity for a year or two? Sure. But once done, he will be able to wheel and deal like crazy and hopefully put together a contender again in a few years when Rondo and Green are in their primes and the youth have developed.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Team is tanking.  They can't admit they are tanking, but this team is completely designed to "lose with a purpose".

The fact that your savior denies tanking, while you guys so adamantly embrace/glorify it, is telling...

There's no honor in giving up. And it shouldn't be necessary to need to fail in order to achieve. Aging roster or not, if you're good at your job, you make the transition more smoothly.

[Boris Badenov]

I am sure people will be all over this but, I just do not understand the logic of trading a 27 year old, 4 time All-Star who is just entering his prime and is under contract for two more years on a bargain contract. You really need to be getting back a player better than Rondo on a max or near max contract or someone almost as good as Rondo on a better value contract to come close to getting fair value.

I believe Danny. He's not trading Rondo. He cleared out all the old guys so now we have one of the youngest teams in the league and he's clearing out salary and money to get out of luxury tax hell and get some cap space.

Will that mean mediocrity for a year or two? Sure. But once done, he will be able to wheel and deal like crazy and hopefully put together a contender again in a few years when Rondo and Green are in their primes and the youth have developed.

I agree. I think we will keep Rondo.

Mind you, I believe this mostly on instinct, not because Danny says it. In the same presser he said that we won't tank because "this is the Celtics" - completely ignoring that the Celtics have not only tanked, but have tanked with DANNY AINGE AS GM.

[fairweatherfan]

Mind you, I believe this mostly on instinct, not because Danny says it. In the same presser he said that we won't tank because "this is the Celtics" - completely ignoring that the Celtics have not only tanked, but have tanked with DANNY AINGE AS GM.

Not according to Danny Ainge, we didn't 

Danny denying tanking is meaningless; is he supposed to say, "Yup, suck city this year.  We're colluding with the coaching staff and players to intentionally water down the quality of our product to game the system for a better draft pick.  All our fans, and especially our very powerful commish, who absolutely hates feeling shown up in the media, is on his way out, and has nothing to lose can just deal with it."

Danny saying that we're not pursuing any major free agents (and media reports so far corroborating it) was a lot more informative about our priorities than denying something he has to deny. 

I do think we'll hang onto Rondo unless we get a strong offer for him.  But if we do get that strong offer he's donezo.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Team is tanking.  They can't admit they are tanking, but this team is completely designed to "lose with a purpose".

The fact that your savior denies tanking, while you guys so adamantly embrace/glorify it, is telling...

There's no honor in giving up. And it shouldn't be necessary to need to fail in order to achieve. Aging roster or not, if you're good at your job, you make the transition more smoothly.

I wasn't questioning whether we are tanking or not. I am pointing out that Ainge "has to say it," in your words, for a reason...

because he recognizes it's undesirable - and even pathetic - to a considerable proportion of fans.