I agree with a lot of what the OP said; the team, right now, is in a pretty tough spot with the players currently on it.
I don't really see the guy who we're going to rebuild around on the roster today. Maybe it'll be Smart (I hope). Skeptical that it's Rondo. VERY skeptical that it's Sully these days. Not convinced KO can defend at an acceptable-enough level. "The Guy" for the next great (or just very good) Celtics squad is still playing elsewhere.
But, I appreciate the KG/Pierce trade, and the pick haul it entailed. But as I've detailed elsewhere, I'm not sure Danny's any better than an average drafter. Given the caveat of he's usually been picking in the mid/late-mid part of the draft, there really aren't THAT many great players he's taken. The only All-Star we've acquired via the draft is Rondo, and the only other guy that's close was Big Al. A fair number of decent players and a fairly high number of busts. Not any worse than most other teams... but not really all that better.
TL/DR; if there' an opportunity to trade draft picks for impact players, don't be afraid to do so.
And, I don't hate watching a rebuilding team as long as I sense that they're actively trying to get better. I've got a soft spot in my heart for the '06-'07 squad, because they busted tail every night. I loved those guys - Delonte, young Rondo, Big Al, Perk, Tony Allen, Leon Powe, Ryan Gomes - there wasn't a TON of talent there, but a lot of very competitive players. This year's squad... meh. "Competitive" in a lot of games, but so often it just felt like everyone was just going through the motions. Once the intensity ratcheted ip, once the opposition started playing to win, we had no chance. I'm hoping that adding Smart to the mix, and with Rondo coming back to health, that this will light a fire under the hundquarters of some of the guys who tend to coast (Uncle Jeffy).
The biggest thing, though... in '06-'07, the front office was TRYING to get better. Last year, they were trying to get a better draft pick and trying to shed salary. They actively wanted the team to win fewer games. And don't try to convince me of why tanking is smart; I understand the logic behind it. As a fan though, it sucks and it sucks and it sucks, it insults me, it's 100% antithetical to why we have sports competitions in the first place. You play to win the Edited. Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.n game!
And three times out of four, you don't get the pick you wanted anyway, so you've wasted a season and are still p---ed off.
So, you see them shedding Courtney Lee, a player I've always thought got a bum rap, they shed him because he makes too much money. I GET the logic, I understand why they did it but it's still making the team worse. The failure to bring in ANYONE who might be able to defend the interior. Trading middling players for worse players because their contracts are better.
Once they get to the point - hopefully soon - where the objective is "let's win as many as we can," it'll be better. Right now, it's "let's clear space and get picks and try to get as many 'assets' as we can." It's not the same objective, and that permeates down to the team.
We'll see. Had been optimistic that we might see something big get done this summer, but seems like we all might have overestimated how much value Sully, KO, and a #6 pick might have around the league. As of today, I'm not sure we're any better than the squad that stumbled through last year.
But don't tell me to go watch the Spurs, or the Cavs. I really don't think it's too much to ask for me to expect the BOSTON [dang] CELTICS to show some pride and at least try to put out a competitive team. I mean, is that unrealistic?
