Danny: "Over the next two years I'm going to completely turn over the roster, getting rid of every declining veteran and filling the roster with a bunch of 26-and-under prospects. I'm also going to accumulate the biggest stockpile of first round picks in the league. And, I'll do all that while getting us back into the playoffs by the end of that second year."
Fans: "Meh."
Reality is that Danny didn't want this outcome. If you listened to any interview he gave over the past couple years, he's been pretty straight-forward in his desire to land an impact player or two through the draft. We got rid of Pierce/KG with hopes of bottoming out in 2013-14. We waited extra long to bring back Rondo and then found excuses not to play in him back-to-backs (ironically, we were worse in games Rondo played). We really wanted someone like Wiggins or Parker. Got unlucky and got the consolation prize of Marcus Smart.
Tried again this year where there were some ideal big men prospects at the top of the draft (Okafor, Townes, etc). Traded everyone who supposedly was keeping this team mediocre. Goodbye Rondo. Goodbye Green. Took back nothing substantial short-term. Goal was obviously to bottom out. Ainge publicly admitted that he saw no purpose in making the playoffs with a below .500 record and then getting thrashed. Thanks to Brad Stevens and some addition by subtraction, the team greatly overachieved. That wasn't Danny's intention at all. He did everything he possibly could to set up a bottom 3 team. This team is comprised of role players. There might not be a single player on this roster who would start for a contender. The plan was to be horrible.
The only thing you can maybe fault him for is the Thomas trade, but I think that was a big picture trade. He saw that Thomas could have more trade value than what he gave up... so he jumped at an opportunity to buy low.
The way this season has played out is going to make Danny's job much harder. I'm sure he's not thrilled about it. Maybe he can leverage a playoff appearance into a free agent sales pitch, but who knows. I'm certain Ainge would have preferred to land a top 4 pick this year.
Ainge didn't do anything dramatically different than Philly. Philly just had the nerve to draft injured players, fill out the roster with d-leaguers and embrace a losing culture for a couple seasons. I think Brad Stevens was a great hire for us long-term, but I think it had the short-term effect of causing a bit of conflicting agendas. Stevens wants to win. Ainge wants to keep Stevens happy. Ainge wants to lose short-term. That's a hard thing to balance. Didn't want to scare off Stevens or create a negative environment. Philly's managed to keep spirits up in spite of the losses, because they run that team like a basketball camp for developing kids. The players know that short-term success is irrelevant. They just need to work on their areas of focus and continue to improve. That wasn't going to be a role that fit Stevens.
A little too blunt but yeah this is basically what has happened. Stevens has proven to be too good a coach lol He has taken a team with average to above average players far beyond many could have imagined. A playoff team even in the East in year 2? Not many coaches in the league could do that. Ainge's next job is to land a legit #1 option and a good #2 to go along with it. That's the hardest task to a rebuild tho
You guys are mostly right, but for one factor. The fact that this talentless team has gone something like 22-12 since removing Green/Rondo proves that they may not be so talentless as it seems. Had this team bottomed out (assume IT trade doesnt happen) it would mean that the teams individuals did not improve. Instead we found that these guys are better than we thought. Based on his recent play, ET has upped his value significantly from this offseason, Zeller and IT4 have proven to be steals absolute steals. AB has continued to improve on O and has gotten back to the D that made him a notable player coming into the league.
Had we sucked and gotten say the #5 pick it probably would mean that
1. Brad isnt as good as we hoped
2. The only thing on the team worth keeping is Smart
2a. None of our other players have any value cus they just sucked for a year
3. AB is overpaid
4. Oh dear God we need to nail this pick. If we get a star we are in good position if not we are trending towards Charlotte or Sacremento
Instead
1. Brad is one of the best at maximizing talent
2. Smart, AB, Zeller, KO, Sully (think back to preinjury), IT4 could all be keepers
2a. ET and everyone listed above are now at least decent trade pieces
3. AB is underpaid, IT4 probably is too
4. [dang], this pick will probably turn into another solid but not great player
5. All our keepers above will have the experience of a tight playoff race and a playoff series
One final point, I used to see the line "If we dont tank we wont find a superstar and we will just end up like the Hawks" I dont see that line a lot anymore.
Topic: Enjoy the quick fix. Danny set this franchise back. (Read 44760 times)