If DA was trying to win now and keep Rondo, shouldn't we be better than we are?

[TheFlex]

Just a thought.

If DA was committed to re-signing Rondo, wouldn't this team look a little bit more polished than it currently is?

DA doesn't seem confident that Rondo can lead this team to a ring as the guy. He went after Love this summer, but based on all the confirmed reports of what he offered, he didn't seem too keen on surrendering the necessary assets. And unless I'm missing something, he didn't seem too interested in other proven commodities (Afflalo, Hibbert, etc.) either.

I don't doubt that DA would love to keep Rondo on a team-friendly ($15m sounds reasonable) deal this summer, but my guess is that if he truly thought Rondo was max-worth and imperative to the future success of this club, he would have made a harder push to surround him with 5-8 seed playoff talent this summer.

[wdleehi]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits. 

[manl_lui]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

+1

[Neurotic Guy]

I hear you, but my guess is that he did try, and he came up with small asset upgrades rather than what he probably hoped for.   I think it's evidence that DA is being patient and that he believes that patience will pay off with the right deal at the right time.  To your point though, I don't think Danny has put all his eggs in one basket.  He's left options open, including options that don't include Rondo.  That said, I do believe his A-list options do include RR -- but, who knows.

[TheFlex]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

DA would hardly have been panicking by nabbing a guy like Afflalo or Asik this summer.

Afflalo went for a late second rounder and Evan Fournier. James Young on his own should have enough to trump that offer.

Asik went for a pretty good first, but we have plenty of those. Again, if DA wanted to show Rondo that he was confident in Rondo's ability to lead this team to a playoff charge without a Marc Gasol or Kevin Love on board, I figure he would've been willing to cough up potential value (a BKN pick and Olynyk) for proven value (Asik).

Could this team have made the playoffs?

Rondo/Smart
Bradley/Afflalo/Thornton
Green/Turner
Sully/Bass
Asik/Zeller

Could this team have been feasibly assembled?

Yes.

[timobusa]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

Agreed. It's not like Stars are clamouring their way out of their teams to join the Celtics.
I think we have to prove that we have potential just like what the Wizards have done.
Keep re-building til we get better as a team.

[TheFlex]

I hear you, but my guess is that he did try, and he came up with small asset upgrades rather than what he probably hoped for.   I think it's evidence that DA is being patient and that he believes that patience will pay off with the right deal at the right time.  To your point though, I don't think Danny has put all his eggs in one basket.  He's left options open, including options that don't include Rondo.  That said, I do believe his A-list options do include RR -- but, who knows.

I can agree with that.

While his dream might be to keep Rondo and surround him with an Aldridge + good supporting cast or a Gasol + good supporting cast, his actions to me have spelled out exactly how realistic he believes that dream is without having to approve of a couple of massive overpays.

Danny is behaving very cautiously with his assets which tells me that a Big Three of Rondo, Aldridge/Gasol and someone else isn't coming to Boston unless it falls right into his lap. One 1st too many and it seems like he hangs up the phone.

And while I agree Danny shouldn't have done something ridiculous like offer Olynyk and multiple 1sts for Hibbert, I don't see why Olynyk + a BKN 1st for Asik is being characterized as a panic move. To me that would have just meant that Danny was confident in leading the team in a particular direction.

[Celtics18]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

+1

+2

[TheFlex]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

Agreed. It's not like Stars are clamouring their way out of their teams to join the Celtics.
I think we have to prove that we have potential just like what the Wizards have done.
Keep re-building til we get better as a team.

Check out my post right above you. I think that those trades would have been accepted and that rotation is playoff-caliber. We would've still had Smart, Sully, all of our firsts, the Clippers' and Cleveland's 1sts, at least one if not two of the BKN 1sts, and the Philly seconds. With our proven talent and loaded potential, I don't see why the Cs wouldn't be an attractive destination for Gasol or Aldridge.

Is that team honestly less attractive to a premier FA than the team and future we currently have now? I don't think so. I just think DA feels it's too risky and seems to be opting for a longer rebuild.

[Celtics18]

I hear you, but my guess is that he did try, and he came up with small asset upgrades rather than what he probably hoped for.   I think it's evidence that DA is being patient and that he believes that patience will pay off with the right deal at the right time.  To your point though, I don't think Danny has put all his eggs in one basket.  He's left options open, including options that don't include Rondo.  That said, I do believe his A-list options do include RR -- but, who knows.

I can agree with that.

While his dream might be to keep Rondo and surround him with an Aldridge + good supporting cast or a Gasol + good supporting cast, his actions to me have spelled out exactly how realistic he believes that dream is without having to approve of a couple of massive overpays.

Danny is behaving very cautiously with his assets which tells me that a Big Three of Rondo, Aldridge/Gasol and someone else isn't coming to Boston unless it falls right into his lap. One 1st too many and it seems like he hangs up the phone.

And while I agree Danny shouldn't have done something ridiculous like offer Olynyk and multiple 1sts for Hibbert, I don't see why Olynyk + a BKN 1st for Asik is being characterized as a panic move. To me that would have just meant that Danny was confident in leading the team in a particular direction.

Kelly Olynyk is a big part of the future. 

[Jailan34]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits. 

To play devils advocate for a minute, isn't it possible hes could become too patient? By that I mean waste entire seasons being a middle of the road team waiting for the second coming of the KG trade to appear?

While last year wasn't wasted as we acquired Smart and to a lesser degree Young, I do believe we need to make moves eventually, as many posters have better stated than I ever could this roster is mismatched and screams trade incoming.

[wiley]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

+1

+2

+3

Rondo may stay or he may go, but there was no way in heck for the C's to put a contender on the floor this year.  Zero chance.  So why throw away a bunch of assets for middling players.
I think Ainge will remain open to adding to Rondo and open to trading him.  Both options still
firmly on the table.

[Lucky17]

Asik went for a pretty good first, but we have plenty of those.

Again, it was for a pick that could finish anywhere between #4 overall and #19. If protection triggers, the pick rolls over again to the next year, under the same protections.

So, I disagree there's a pick that could be as valuable in the Celtics larder that should have been put up for grabs. You do it if you have a top-5 player under contract for the forseeable future, not when you're where the Celtics are right now.

[TheFlex]

I hear you, but my guess is that he did try, and he came up with small asset upgrades rather than what he probably hoped for.   I think it's evidence that DA is being patient and that he believes that patience will pay off with the right deal at the right time.  To your point though, I don't think Danny has put all his eggs in one basket.  He's left options open, including options that don't include Rondo.  That said, I do believe his A-list options do include RR -- but, who knows.

I can agree with that.

While his dream might be to keep Rondo and surround him with an Aldridge + good supporting cast or a Gasol + good supporting cast, his actions to me have spelled out exactly how realistic he believes that dream is without having to approve of a couple of massive overpays.

Danny is behaving very cautiously with his assets which tells me that a Big Three of Rondo, Aldridge/Gasol and someone else isn't coming to Boston unless it falls right into his lap. One 1st too many and it seems like he hangs up the phone.

And while I agree Danny shouldn't have done something ridiculous like offer Olynyk and multiple 1sts for Hibbert, I don't see why Olynyk + a BKN 1st for Asik is being characterized as a panic move. To me that would have just meant that Danny was confident in leading the team in a particular direction.

Kelly Olynyk is a big part of the future.

A claim such as that is at odds with the agenda to keep Rondo. KO's not a future All-Star. He's a future very good role player, like Asik, except we could have probably gotten Asik in his prime right now to pair with Rondo and made Boston a more attractive destination to FAs soon to be on the wrong side of 30.

[TheFlex]

No.  Teams that panic and make any wild trades to try and put mediocre name talent around their stars are doomed to fail.  (see Knicks)


Ainge hasn't had the move he wants, so he waits.

+1

+2

+3

Rondo may stay or he may go, but there was no way in heck for the C's to put a contender on the floor this year.  Zero chance.  So why throw away a bunch of assets for middling players.
I think Ainge will remain open to adding to Rondo and open to trading him.  Both options still
firmly on the table.

Again, no disagreement at all from me.

That's pretty much my point. If DA believed in Rondo as a superstar player, wouldn't he have rather been a 5-8 seed as Rondo entered FA than a lotto team?

As I said earlier, if an opportunity falls in his lap that allows him to keep Rondo and become a contender, obviously he would do it. He doesn't seem to be aggressively pursuing that course of action, and I would hardly characterize Young-for-Afflalo and Oly+BKN 1st-for-Asik as "throwing away assets." Those are fair trades.