Sad state of affairs

[Q_FBE]

Danny has become the Amarillo Livestock Cattle Auctioneer. He collects draft picks like stamp collectors collect stamps. His vision is a complete system reboot with financial savings to pass on to the Celtics fans.

Meanwhile we can all rally around Jae Crowder.

[sahara]

This is horrible and I feel bad. Simple.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

as i stated last year everybody here with common sense knew this was a 3 to 5 year rebuild whether we like it or not. You really thought he could turn this around as quickly as he did from 2007 to 2008? really? let's be realistic.  hopefully we can get some stars in the draft and turn some of these picks into a proven player or two to help us contend and win a title again.

[Cman]

By trading Rondo it meant we were going into full on rebuild. I think until the Rondo trade happened, I was holding onto some hope that the Cs could trade some of the existing expiring contracts plus draft picks to bring back some decent talent, and convince Rondo to resign. For many reasons, that didn't happen. So... on to the full rebuild.

Once we traded Rondo, I think the Wright and Green trades make sense.
Basically trading expiring contracts for expiring contracts or TE plus draft picks. Sort of a no brainer.

[flybono]

TP, feel the same way.

Would have much rather attempted to build around Rondo, than trade him for trash and hope our average players can be traded for average draft picks.  And while were here, shouldn't it be pointed out that Ainge has been utterly TURRIBLE at drafting?  When was the last time Ainge drafted a starter caliber player?

Meanwhile, we pass on the likes of: Chan Parsons, Deandre Jordan, Gorgui Deing, Giannis, Nuric, Gobert, Lance Stephenson, Wesley Matthews, McRoberts, Marc Gasol and the list goes on and on.  Sure, hindsight is 20/20--- but really is it too much to ask Ainge to hit on 1 out of 3?  Think of the list of players he's drafted who've flamed out of the league all together.  He's not finding NBA talent with any kind of longevity. 

Even right now, halfway through the season, already looking like LaVine and EPayton are better guards than Maacus Smart. 

So yeah, I have no faith in Ainge's plan to draft the next contender.   
C's will always be my favorite team, but until they take themselves seriously I won't either.

Better guards than Smart? Give us a breakdown brother on ZLavine and Payton. I want to hear how and why both would have been better piks.
Please enlighten us.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

By trading Rondo it meant we were going into full on rebuild. I think until the Rondo trade happened, I was holding onto some hope that the Cs could trade some of the existing expiring contracts plus draft picks to bring back some decent talent, and convince Rondo to resign. For many reasons, that didn't happen. So... on to the full rebuild.

Once we traded Rondo, I think the Wright and Green trades make sense.
Basically trading expiring contracts for expiring contracts or TE plus draft picks. Sort of a no brainer.

once rondo got hurt i knew he was gone just a matter of when.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Ainge needs to Trade one of our Picks to San Antonio....Just so we can let THEM pick for us in the upcoming Drafts....Cause Ainge SUCKS at evaluating players in the draft.

[tarheelsxxiii]

TP. Another person that wishes I could give more.

[tarheelsxxiii]

The OP is another person who fails the marshmallow test.

TP

Why are you so combative? Please enlighten us as to what you think Ainge is going to do with his collection of protected picks, TEs, and cap space. I'd love to know.

It's easy to be the criticizer of others' ideas. It's a bit more difficult to come up with your own.

[Beat LA]

TP, feel the same way.

Would have much rather attempted to build around Rondo, than trade him for trash and hope our average players can be traded for average draft picks.  And while were here, shouldn't it be pointed out that Ainge has been utterly TURRIBLE at drafting?  When was the last time Ainge drafted a starter caliber player?

Meanwhile, we pass on the likes of: Chan Parsons, Deandre Jordan, Gorgui Deing, Giannis, Nuric, Gobert, Lance Stephenson, Wesley Matthews, McRoberts, Marc Gasol and the list goes on and on.  Sure, hindsight is 20/20--- but really is it too much to ask Ainge to hit on 1 out of 3?  Think of the list of players he's drafted who've flamed out of the league all together.  He's not finding NBA talent with any kind of longevity. 

Even right now, halfway through the season, already looking like LaVine and EPayton are better guards than Maacus Smart. 

So yeah, I have no faith in Ainge's plan to draft the next contender.   
C's will always be my favorite team, but until they take themselves seriously I won't either.

Better guards than Smart? Give us a breakdown brother on ZLavine and Payton. I want to hear how and why both would have been better piks.
Please enlighten us.

Bob Ryan was right about Zach LaVine - that kid can flat out play.  I was wrong about him, as I thought that, like Tyler Honeycutt (even though he's a 2/3), he'd be too skinny to play as a point guard.  I liked Payton, as well, but I didn't think that he should have been taken at 6.  It was between Smart and Randle for me, especially after we lost out on Embiid.

[Beat LA]

The OP is another person who fails the marshmallow test.

TP

Why are you so combative? Please enlighten us as to what you think Ainge is going to do with his collection of protected picks, TEs, and cap space. I'd love to know.

It's easy to be the criticizer of others' ideas. It's a bit more difficult to come up with your own.

I hate to insult Bill Russell by putting him in the same sentence as Danny Ainge, lol (sorry, Bill.), but this picture perfectly sums up Danny's collection of picks, lol.  Just substitute his face for Bill's, and imagine that Russell's 11 rings are all of the draft picks that Ainge has acquired, lol.

[afrascione]

I agree 100% this is a bunch of bs. I really think the commissioner should step in. he did with the cp trade. 

[Kuberski33]

I go back to the first year post-Russell.  I grew up during the Tommy Heinsohn years, endured John Y Brown, remember the day Red drafted Bird (and Freeman Williams) and everything that's happened since.  It is what it is.  This rebuild was probably inevitable so we just have to endure and wait for signs of hope.  If they can go forward with most of the group we saw tonight + Young, at least they'll hustle and give it their all and be mildly entertaining more nights than not.

It could be worse...Billy King or some other overmatched GM could be running the basketball operations.....Danny knows what he's doing so he's got as good a chance as anyone else of making this trip to the bottom shorter than it could be.

[LarBrd33]

The OP is another person who fails the marshmallow test.

TP

Why are you so combative? Please enlighten us as to what you think Ainge is going to do with his collection of protected picks, TEs, and cap space. I'd love to know.

It's easy to be the criticizer of others' ideas. It's a bit more difficult to come up with your own.

you don't get it...

Ainge is doing a fantastic job

[LarBrd33]

The OP is another person who fails the marshmallow test.

Huh?

Don't even bother. It's the stupidest most condescending demonstration ever about how patience pays off.

Well here it is: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ

He was suggesting that the people who hate what's happening here want instant gratification.  The kind of people who would rather see us make the playoffs with the 8th seed than land a Top 5 pick.

Honestly, I think it's less "impatience" and more just ignorance.  No fault of their own, a lot of people who hate what is happening here are just casual fans who don't follow the league closely enough.  Frankly, they just don't understand how the league works.  I'm not holding against them.  I invest way too much of my personal time reading about NBA transactions.  I'm definitely not looking down on being a casual fans who show up to games and cheer for their favorite players.   I try explaining to my cousins in Boston why I love what's going on and they totally don't get it.  You don't wear jerseys with your favorite pick protections and trade exceptions named on the back.  They don't get it either.  On the flip side, they can talk to me about the Patriots and I will not have a clue what they are talking about.  Brady still plays there, right?

Unfortunately, a lot of these people seem to assume their favorite players just magically appear on the team.  Like one day, "oh hey... this James Young kid looks good!"... Like he was gifted to us through some miracle virgin basketball birth.   They don't realize that we got James young with the #17 pick.  They don't realize that we got the #17 pick by trading KG and Pierce a year ago... one of several picks we received from that trade that are coming. 

No, they just seem to think James Young fell from the sky.  Like he was a walk-on for our D-league team and we decided to give the kid a crack at it. 

The same people who would lose their mind over us moving Rondo and Green fail to acknowledge that we landed Rondo after the Suns drafted him with the #21 pick in 2006 and we traded a 2007 Cleveland pick for him (that we acquired in a previous trade).

Nope... Rondo just fell from the sky.

Same people losing their minds over Jeff Green probably don't understand that we received Jeff Green (this time around) by trading Kendrick Perkins for him... and that we received Kendrick Perkins after Memphis drafted him #27 and we traded for him on draft night.   

Nope... Green was the result of virgin birth.

Or hey... how about the fact that we whiffed on the 2007 draft and ended up getting Jeff Green with the #5 pick, but salvaged the situation by moving Green for Ray Allen... and later moved Big Al (taken #15), Gerald Green (taken #18) and others for Kevin Garnett.

Nah... Kg just decided to show up one day and win us a title.

All their other current favorite players like Sully (taken #21), Smart (taken #6), Olynyk (taken  #13), appeared magically as well.

 Players enter the league through the draft.  When you draft a guy in the 1st round, they are stuck on your team for at least 4 years at bargain prices.   Ainge very smartly dumped dead weight and somehow acquired a ton of picks out of it.   If someone you know doesn't see how this team is set up for incredible success long-term, they simply don't understand what's going on.   It's going over their head.  Trust me... this is awesome.   Ainge is doing everything he can to set this team up long-term.

For folks like me who pay unreasonably close attention to this nonsense, we've been waiting for this since 2011.   May 7, 2011 is when the Celtics stopped being a legitimate contender.  It sounds absurb, but that was the day Shaq played his last game.  From that point on, the Celtics lacked a legitimate center.   We overachieved on an extended victory lap that lasted a while longer, but the rebuild was effectively in motion at that point.  Where we are right now was inevitable.   It took a little longer than I would have liked, but Ainge has done a fantastic job of laying the groundwork for the future.  I do wish we had started sooner, but I'm rather pleased we finally got here.