Gerald Wallace is worth a probable lottery pick. Jordan Hill is worth a first round pick. Marcus Camby. But nobody was offering picks for Allen or Pierce? Right. Maybe the picks weren't good enough. Maybe we'd need to take some salary next year.
And in that case, then you have to get at least another big. Even if you give away a second rounder for Kurt Thomas.
Here's what happened: Ainge shopped Allen/Pierce hard. When he didn't get any deal, there wasn't enough time to find help for the current team.