Where does Danny find these guys???

[guava_wrench]

Luigi Datome, Jonas Jerebko.  I mean I never heard of these guys and they're out there tearing it up.

You can unleash Zan Tabak there and he'll be tearing it up with this team. There is an awfully large margin for error for players on the Celtics right now.

Ha.

Tearing it up = looking competent.

[mmmmm]

He looked just like he looked when he played in Italy two years ago.   Long.  Mobile.  Excellent shooter from all over the court.  Knows the game very well and makes smart plays.   That's who this guy was and there is no reason to think he isn't still that guy.

He also made Olynyk look nimble on his feet, which I think will ultimately spell his doom in the NBA. There's no doubt he can get good shots and make them, but the requisite footspeed (and perhaps ball handling) are just not there.

Well, to be fair, he got burned by a pretty nifty move by Harkless.   Credit on that play should go to the offensive player.  Other than that, I only saw one other play where I thought Datome was 'slow' on defense.  He also had a couple of smart plays on defense.  Sample size is small.   Sitting on a bench for a year and a half also probably doesn't help make you the quickest defender right off the bat.

If he helps the offense score 3 points for every 2 his supposed 'bad defense' gives up, I'm fine with it.  We have plenty of supposedly 'great defenders'.  We have a dirth of guys who can actually score.

[shrinkage36]

I like the guys too, but at the end of the day, we'll need a rim protector for sure, and aggressive inside player. We have mid range shooting with these guys, we have great guard defensive play, we're quick on defense, and now with the addition of these guys, we have three point and mid range shooting.

We do need a Super Star, it's yet to be seen if Smart can do that, but I can never judge a person off of 1 or 2 years, I judge them by year 3.

[mgent]

I was wondering if this is a burst of adrenaline to two players in different situations or whether the Celts may have uncovered something here.  As of now, I lean towards the former but in the words of Bill Parcells: I reserve the right to change my mind.

In fairness to Jerebko, he's always at least been a back-end-of-the-rotation player.  Career PER of 14.4.  This isn't something that has come out of absolute nowhere.  He's shown flashes in his career.

Funny because it'd be nice too if Datome legitimately did work out.  Or at least, developed into a player who warranted a rotation spot.  Even 10 minutes a game.  Talk about someone who'd develop into a fan favorite.

Ainge's success in finding scrap heap guys is mixed though.  But who, outside of Pat Riley, is the master at this? They're scrap heap guys for a reason.  Only Riley seems to have the right to uncover guys like Bruce Bowen, Voshon Leonard, Ike Austin, Eddie House, Udonis Haslem, Hassan Whiteside, etc.

What struck me about Datome's play in each of these games was a sense of surprise, but rather of familiarity.

He looked just like he looked when he played in Italy two years ago.   Long.  Mobile.  Excellent shooter from all over the court.  Knows the game very well and makes smart plays.   That's who this guy was and there is no reason to think he isn't still that guy.

I think he just needed real minutes to prove he can be that guy in the NBA.   A lot of that is mindset.  Lots of guys who crush other leagues (NBA-DL, Spain, Turkey, Italy) come to the NBA and, despite having the physical tools to succeed, just don't have the mindset, the confidence or whatever, to still 'be that guy'.   Gigi looks like he has decided to 'be that guy'.

SVG has got to be kicking himself right now.

Of course, whether these guys end up as long-term assets depends on whether we sign them this summer, since they both will be free agents.

I believe we'll have Bird Rights on Jerebko.   Will Gigi be an RFA?

I agree with this.  The man certainly plays with confidence (which has been lacking from many of our players).

[WeMadeIt17]

I watched Jonas his first year and saw he could be player. And i remember vividly when he tore his Achilles saying man what a shame. Kid was playing very well for Detroit. Showing that he can still play in to my delight. I loved him in Detroit. He had a few nice games against us. Glad we have him.   

[incoherent]

Danny is just better at this then other GMs.  Whenever a DA hate thread pops up its a pretty disgraceful and sad thing.

By no stretch of the imagination is this a fluke or luck.

[Neurotic Guy]

He found two guys that are skilled enough to put up a legitimate fight for their basketball lives.

Ultimately, JJ and Datome come off the books and will not be assets for the C's unless DA signs them.  Right now they are both getting a huge break by being on the C's where they are getting on the floor in an offense that is getting them open looks.  They are working as hard as they can to get another NBA contract.  In the meantime, they are Rodney Rogers/Tony Delk-Lite  in that they give the C's enough firepower (with IT) to challenge for a playoff spot that no C's fan had a right to hope for 3 months ago.   This is either a great thing or a disaster depending on how you look at it.

[255 Rings]

He found two guys that are skilled enough to put up a legitimate fight for their basketball lives.

Ultimately, JJ and Datome come off the books and will not be assets for the C's unless DA signs them.  Right now they are both getting a huge break by being on the C's where they are getting on the floor in an offense that is getting them open looks.  They are working as hard as they can to get another NBA contract.  In the meantime, they are Rodney Rogers/Tony Delk-Lite  in that they give the C's enough firepower (with IT) to challenge for a playoff spot that no C's fan had a right to hope for 3 months ago.   This is either a great thing or a disaster depending on how you look at it.

I honestly think Danny's letting Bass walk this off-season and keeping Jerebko. He's much cheaper and can hit the 3. Plus he's younger. What Danny Ainge has done is try and get the players that work in Brad's coaching system. In the NBA some players excel in under certain teams and under certain coaches because their skill-set complements what the coach is trying to utilize. When Rondo and Green were traded, that created the beautiful ball-sharing we see now. Ainge turned an inconsistent duo into role players that hustle and play hard every game. He's basically molding the team Brad Stevens envisions. All we need is draft a big man from the draft and in a few years, when LeBron and his Cavs decline, we'll be in championship talks. 

[255 Rings]

Danny is just better at this then other GMs.  Whenever a DA hate thread pops up its a pretty disgraceful and sad thing.

By no stretch of the imagination is this a fluke or luck.

Boston Celtics fans can be fickle sometimes, but it's because we've been so successful we demand excellency. I for one like Danny Ainge and I believe he knows what he's doing. He shocked us all when out of nowhere he landed Thomas (using a TPE) and even more when he got Datome and Jerebko for just Prince's expiring (just WOW!). Ainge for president 

[Otsje P]

He shocked us all when out of nowhere he landed Thomas (using a TPE)

He landed us Thomas for Marcus Thornton and a draft pick.

To be fair. He did bring Thornton in for a TPE, together with Tyler Zeller. So in a way, he did bring Thomas in with a TPE. Just not the way you wrote

[Csfan1984]

He shocked us all when out of nowhere he landed Thomas (using a TPE)

He landed us Thomas for Marcus Thornton and a draft pick.

To be fair. He did bring Thornton in for a TPE, together with Tyler Zeller. So in a way, he did bring Thomas in with a TPE. Just not the way you wrote

Makes Thomas as part of the Brooklyn trade  haul

[BornReady]

I think it's a combination of Danny finding players and Stevens getting the most out of them. CBS has done an excellent job giving these guys opportunities and putting them in a position to succeed. And Danny has shown he has an eye for guys with talent who've been under-utilized by their former team and are available at a bargain rate.

Just think. At the time many people, including me, derided the Rondo trade. We were shocked that Danny Ainge, a man famous for his ability to make great trades, would take so little for Rondo when he got so much for KG and Pierce. But here we are three months later and it's clear as day he won that trade too. A guaranteed 1st in the 14-20ish range, what will probably become an early 2nd and a mid 2nd (Although I wouldn't sleep on the wolves, especially if KG comes back in any capacity, they prob won't make the playoffs next year, but Wiggins is legit.), 2 trade exceptions and Jae Crowder. No one heard of him before, but now he's a key part of why we've been playing so well, and would be an great role player for the long term.

All for a surly, unengaged, one foot out the door half-season rental version of Rondo who hasn't made them any better if he hasn't made them worse. Amazing. And we had to drag Prince to play for us, he wanted a buyout from the get go. But he played well with this group and Stevens and Danny managed to turn that into Jerebko and Datome!

Since the rebuild started, Danny has just been incredible. I am genuinely excited to see what him and Stevens can do together in the next few years. It's gonna be good.

I felt the rondo trade was probably the best we could do
Everyone anticipated a large haul for rondo considering he was getting trade looks from the Suns dangling Pre- terrible NY Amare
But it would have been nice if we did the Kings trade and got 2 first rounders that could have been lotto picks
Crowder was a good bench player on the mavs. I felt he was underrated. People were saying wright was the key player going to us but I knew with crowder's age, contract and productivity that he was  the key piece

[Eddie20]

Ainge's success in finding scrap heap guys is mixed though.  But who, outside of Pat Riley, is the master at this? They're scrap heap guys for a reason.  Only Riley seems to have the right to uncover guys like Bruce Bowen, Voshon Leonard, Ike Austin, Eddie House, Udonis Haslem, Hassan Whiteside, etc.

Don't forget Starks and Mason too. Riley is horrible in the draft, but redeems himself in molding unknowns to fit his system.

[pearljammer10]

What is the icing on the cake so far is that  teams like the suns, mavs, pistons are doing worse after the trade

Danny is a genius.

Well, the Suns were actually blowing things up. The other two make sense though.

The Suns didn't blow anything up, they're fighting for a playoff spot in the West. They jumped at the chance to move Dragic without loosing him for nothing and when they were able to get Brandon Knight they felt Thomas was expendable. It sounds like IT wanted a place where he got a bigger role and more playing time anyway.

The Suns replaced point guards and added three first rounders while still maintaining a potential playoff roster. Those are some good moves that will only add strength to them when they decide to package those picks elsewhere.

[saltlover]

What is the icing on the cake so far is that  teams like the suns, mavs, pistons are doing worse after the trade

Danny is a genius.

Well, the Suns were actually blowing things up. The other two make sense though.

The Suns didn't blow anything up, they're fighting for a playoff spot in the West. They jumped at the chance to move Dragic without loosing him for nothing and when they were able to get Brandon Knight they felt Thomas was expendable. It sounds like IT wanted a place where he got a bigger role and more playing time anyway.

The Suns replaced point guards and added three first rounders while still maintaining a potential playoff roster. Those are some good moves that will only add strength to them when they decide to package those picks elsewhere.

I'm sorry, but when you trade two of your top 6 players by minutes, as well as a third rotation player, at the deadline, for three future 1sts and only one player that you actually wanted, that's blowing it up for the season.  It doesn't mean it wasn't sensible, given the team's situation.  They were quickly falling behind OKC even before the trade, and yes, they were going to lose Dragic.  But they definitely blew it up.