I think reality is finally setting in for fans who expected Boston to have a quick and easy turnaround from elderly playoff fodder to youthful contender.
Well, it really came down to one thing. Cleveland decided it was willing to part with Wiggins in exchange for Love.
If Cleveland's not willing to make that swap, I believe the C's would have been right there still in the mix for Love. Sully/Smart/future picks might well have been one of the better offers Minnesota would have had available. Love was being traded SOMEWHERE, that's been obvious for months.
And from there... who knows? The rest of the team comes together quite differently when you're building around a pair of All Stars, not when you're trying to flesh out a lottery squad with reclamation projects like ET. There still would have been work to be done, but it's all butterfly effect; maybe Pierce decides to come back here. Who knows? We at least would have had a path towards getting back into the playoffs next year.
But, didn't happen. Alas. Player-development time.