Why would any top tier free agent sign for a team run by Ainge

[Evantime34]

I don't think this is a big deal. I am surprised it is not but I don't think it is. I struggle to think of any players who have avoided signing with a team because they have a lot of roster turnover.

I think the most important impression Ainge gives to prospective FAs is that Ainge knows how to build an NBA Championship team. He has done it before. He has proven himself. Unlike 90% of the rest of the GMs in the league. And if you come to Boston, Ainge will give you a chance to win a Championship.

That is a fair point, but don't the top tier guys have that pretty much anywhere they would sign.  And there are a lot of teams that would be in the mix this summer that have championship talent in the executive box: San Antonio, Dallas, Boston, LA, and New York.  The 4 teams left all potentially have some room or assets available to trade for said players as well. 

All the top tier guys will have multiple options and the dollars will be the same.  If I know that a team is much more inclined to trade not only role players but the face of the franchise (which Ainge has done at least twice - Rondo, Pierce - if not 3 times - Walker), I can't see how that wouldn't play a role in my decision making process.

If a player was really worried about getting dealt they could push for a no trade clause. With so many franchises chasing after these top tier guys they have the leverage to get it. I don't think Danny would refuse to sign a good free agent over a no trade clause or at least a trade kicker.

[BitterJim]

I don't think this is a big deal. I am surprised it is not but I don't think it is. I struggle to think of any players who have avoided signing with a team because they have a lot of roster turnover.

I think the most important impression Ainge gives to prospective FAs is that Ainge knows how to build an NBA Championship team. He has done it before. He has proven himself. Unlike 90% of the rest of the GMs in the league. And if you come to Boston, Ainge will give you a chance to win a Championship.

That is a fair point, but don't the top tier guys have that pretty much anywhere they would sign.  And there are a lot of teams that would be in the mix this summer that have championship talent in the executive box: San Antonio, Dallas, Boston, LA, and New York.  The 4 teams left all potentially have some room or assets available to trade for said players as well. 

All the top tier guys will have multiple options and the dollars will be the same.  If I know that a team is much more inclined to trade not only role players but the face of the franchise (which Ainge has done at least twice - Rondo, Pierce - if not 3 times - Walker), I can't see how that wouldn't play a role in my decision making process.

If a player was really worried about getting dealt they could push for a no trade clause. With so many franchises chasing after these top tier guys they have the leverage to get it. I don't think Danny would refuse to sign a good free agent over a no trade clause or at least a trade kicker.

FAs signing with another team can't get a no trade clause, they need to have played 10 years in the league AND the previous five years must be with the team they're signing with.  Trade kickers are a possibility, but I don't think you can add one to a max contract

[rondohondo]

I don't think this is a big deal. I am surprised it is not but I don't think it is. I struggle to think of any players who have avoided signing with a team because they have a lot of roster turnover.

I think the most important impression Ainge gives to prospective FAs i that Ainge knows how to build an NBA Championship team. He has done it before. He has proven himself. Unlike 90% of the rest of the GMs in the league. And if you come to Boston, Ainge will give you a chance to win a Championship.

That is a fair point, but don't the top tier guys have that pretty much anywhere they would sign.  And there are a lot of teams that would be in the mix this summer that have championship talent in the executive box: San Antonio, Dallas, Boston, LA, and New York.  The 4 teams left all potentially have some room or assets available to trade for said players as well. 

All the top tier guys will have multiple options and the dollars will be the same.  If I know that a team is much more inclined to trade not only role players but the face of the franchise (which Ainge has done at least twice - Rondo, Pierce - if not 3 times - Walker), I can't see how that wouldn't play a role in my decision making process.

so I guess the Lakers are out of the fa sweepstakes because they traded the most dominant  player in the league in shaq, and let Kobe run Dwight out of town. We could play this game with any team in the NBA. It's really silly....

[aingeforthree]

I've been thinking about this for awhile and if I'm a top tier free agent, there is no way I sign with a Danny Ainge run team assuming money is the same.  Here is why.  I would have to believe that the odds of me making the end of a 4 year contract in Boston is less than 10%.  This afterall is the guy that traded for and then away Kevin Garnett.  A guy whose tinkering was so much that Ray Allen choose to leave for half the money.  A guy that traded away Paul Pierce and who has said multiple times would have traded Larry Bird.  A guy who couldn't stand Antoine Walker's game so much that he immediately trades him away and then re-acquires him a few years a later, only to let him walk again.  A guy that wouldn't re-sign James Posey because he wanted an extra year on a mid-level contract.  Who acquires, re-signs, and then trades away Jeff Green who had a very reasonable contract.  Who consistently tried to move Rajon Rondo before finally pulling the trigger.

So I'm Marc Gasol or some other top tier free agent, why on earth would I willingly choose Boston when I know I will be constantly in trade rumors before ultimately getting traded at some point in time?  Heck Garnett even had a no trade clause and that didn't stop Ainge from trying to and ultimately trading him away.  Why would I want to put up with that headache?  I mean the money is the same and it isn't like Boston is set up to win titles for the next ten years.  There is no incentive for me to sign for Ainge and in fact Ainge would be the biggest reason to not sign in Boston if I was a free agent (and don't get me started on the crappy weather, high taxes, etc.).

Three reasons why a top tier free agent would sign with Ainge:

*Great relationship with agents across the league
*Pays the player well & values their worth
*Communication is top notch with Ainge and players

There is a reason he got Paul Pierce to re-sign in Boston.  Ainge was straight up and honest with Pierce & the direction he was taking the team.  He communicates extremely well with his players, which is a lost art with GM's in any league.  He's also not very stingy with Celtic money.

[TheFlex]

Because he runs one of the best front offices in the league?

[biggs]

The examples you gave don't really fit the bill. Ainge has never signed a top tier free agent, so he hasn't had the opportunity to trade them before their value dips. All of the players Danny traded for had limited windows of value, so like others have said, they were traded at the appropriate time. Heck, if the owners didn't put their foot down, we might have DeAndre and Eric Bledsoe right now.

I do agree that Danny's track record could potentially build some distrust, but I think it would affect the rookies more than anything.

If Ainge finally landed a top tier free agent in their prime, you would have to think that we would be fully committed to that player, unless they underperform.

[colincb]

I've been thinking about this for awhile and if I'm a top tier free agent, there is no way I sign with a Danny Ainge run team assuming money is the same.  Here is why.  I would have to believe that the odds of me making the end of a 4 year contract in Boston is less than 10%.  This afterall is the guy that traded for and then away Kevin Garnett.  A guy whose tinkering was so much that Ray Allen choose to leave for half the money.  A guy that traded away Paul Pierce and who has said multiple times would have traded Larry Bird.  A guy who couldn't stand Antoine Walker's game so much that he immediately trades him away and then re-acquires him a few years a later, only to let him walk again.  A guy that wouldn't re-sign James Posey because he wanted an extra year on a mid-level contract.  Who acquires, re-signs, and then trades away Jeff Green who had a very reasonable contract.  Who consistently tried to move Rajon Rondo before finally pulling the trigger.

So I'm Marc Gasol or some other top tier free agent, why on earth would I willingly choose Boston when I know I will be constantly in trade rumors before ultimately getting traded at some point in time?  Heck Garnett even had a no trade clause and that didn't stop Ainge from trying to and ultimately trading him away.  Why would I want to put up with that headache?  I mean the money is the same and it isn't like Boston is set up to win titles for the next ten years.  There is no incentive for me to sign for Ainge and in fact Ainge would be the biggest reason to not sign in Boston if I was a free agent (and don't get me started on the crappy weather, high taxes, etc.).

We're doomed.

Next Subject: Why We Must Tank in 2015-16

[PhoSita]

If the team already has good players and a good coach in place, that's reason enough.

Players don't put as much thought into who the GM is, or what the history of the franchise is (beyond the last 5-8 years), as fans tend to think.


As for the idea that players would avoid signing in Boston because they're worried about getting traded ... how many players has Ainge traded who ended up in a worse situation? 

In the past few years, isn't it the case that most of the players Ainge has traded ended up in a more competitive spot?  I can't imagine too many of those guys are unhappy they got moved.

[greg683x]

I dont see how the way Pierce and Garnett were traded would leave players weary of dealing with Ainge.

That trade benfited Pierce and Garnett as much as it did the Celtics.  Pierce and KG were traded away to what was supposed to be a contending team.  Letting them finish the twilight of their careers still contending for titles instead of playing meaningless games on a rebuilding squad.

From what I remember it was noted after all this went down that Ainge wanted to send both Pierce and Garnett to a team THEY wanted to go to, which is also why the Clippers were the initial team that they were gonna go to.  Garnett didnt like it at first, but Pierce talked him into it.

I dont see how this makes Ainge look like some evil GM, in fact I think it makes Ainge and celtics organization look like a team that will take care of you, if you take care of them.

[Monkhouse]

Traded Jason Terry, Garnett, and Paul Pierce to a team most people considered dark horses to take down the Heat. Rondo was traded to the Mavs, to hopefully help revitalize and rejuvenate the struggling Dirk Nowitizki. Green was traded to the Grizzlies, and even Jordan Crawford was sent over to the Warriors which were playoff contenders that year.

I think free agents can respect a ballsy GM, that is patient, and knows exactly how to get what he wants. We have a good young coach, although I feel like posters exaggerate the history of the Boston Celtics. The only person or top free agent that really spoke of our Celtic tradition in the recent past, was probably Kevin Love, who said he grew up as a Larry Bird fan.

Why wouldn't any top free agent not at least give us a second or two about us? Every top free agent that is called by Ainge, will listen to what Ainge has to say, and what he hopes to achieve.

[Hawkeye199]

I've been thinking about this for awhile and if I'm a top tier free agent, there is no way I sign with a Danny Ainge run team assuming money is the same.  Here is why.  I would have to believe that the odds of me making the end of a 4 year contract in Boston is less than 10%.  This afterall is the guy that traded for and then away Kevin Garnett.  A guy whose tinkering was so much that Ray Allen choose to leave for half the money.  A guy that traded away Paul Pierce and who has said multiple times would have traded Larry Bird.  A guy who couldn't stand Antoine Walker's game so much that he immediately trades him away and then re-acquires him a few years a later, only to let him walk again.  A guy that wouldn't re-sign James Posey because he wanted an extra year on a mid-level contract.  Who acquires, re-signs, and then trades away Jeff Green who had a very reasonable contract.  Who consistently tried to move Rajon Rondo before finally pulling the trigger.

So I'm Marc Gasol or some other top tier free agent, why on earth would I willingly choose Boston when I know I will be constantly in trade rumors before ultimately getting traded at some point in time?  Heck Garnett even had a no trade clause and that didn't stop Ainge from trying to and ultimately trading him away.  Why would I want to put up with that headache?  I mean the money is the same and it isn't like Boston is set up to win titles for the next ten years.  There is no incentive for me to sign for Ainge and in fact Ainge would be the biggest reason to not sign in Boston if I was a free agent (and don't get me started on the crappy weather, high taxes, etc.).

 I think your not giving the players enough credit. They realize this is a busineiss. Ange has actually been really nice to the players he trades away.  Rondo went to the Dallas mavericks a nice contending team. True it ended not working out for rondo but you can't blame ainge for that. Jeff green went to memphis another playoff contending team. Ainge is not screwing his players and trading them to teams with no future like Charlotte.

[spikelovetheCelts]

I've been thinking about this for awhile and if I'm a top tier free agent, there is no way I sign with a Danny Ainge run team assuming money is the same.  Here is why.  I would have to believe that the odds of me making the end of a 4 year contract in Boston is less than 10%.  This afterall is the guy that traded for and then away Kevin Garnett.  A guy whose tinkering was so much that Ray Allen choose to leave for half the money.  A guy that traded away Paul Pierce and who has said multiple times would have traded Larry Bird.  A guy who couldn't stand Antoine Walker's game so much that he immediately trades him away and then re-acquires him a few years a later, only to let him walk again.  A guy that wouldn't re-sign James Posey because he wanted an extra year on a mid-level contract.  Who acquires, re-signs, and then trades away Jeff Green who had a very reasonable contract.  Who consistently tried to move Rajon Rondo before finally pulling the trigger.

So I'm Marc Gasol or some other top tier free agent, why on earth would I willingly choose Boston when I know I will be constantly in trade rumors before ultimately getting traded at some point in time?  Heck Garnett even had a no trade clause and that didn't stop Ainge from trying to and ultimately trading him away.  Why would I want to put up with that headache?  I mean the money is the same and it isn't like Boston is set up to win titles for the next ten years.  There is no incentive for me to sign for Ainge and in fact Ainge would be the biggest reason to not sign in Boston if I was a free agent (and don't get me started on the crappy weather, high taxes, etc.).

 I think your not giving the players enough credit. They realize this is a busineiss. Ange has actually been really nice to the players he trades away.  Rondo went to the Dallas mavericks a nice contending team. True it ended not working out for rondo but you can't blame ainge for that. Jeff green went to memphis another playoff contending team. Ainge is not screwing his players and trading them to teams with no future like Charlotte.

If no Free Agents come here this summer. Danny Anige will not be the reason why. This summer is strange because the money goes up big the following year. As I have said before I see a trade with Denver coming for us to trade up. We may be able to Kosta Koufos to bite to be a starter on an up and coming team but to me that is all I see at the moment.

[GreenWarrior]

if a top tier free agent doesn't understand why we traded Pierce and KG, then I don't want them anyway. as they must not be that intelligent.

[mctyson]

The counter to that argument is how KG and Pierce both still praise playing for the Celtics.

And KG did sign with this team when he was traded.  He signed an extension prior to ever playing here.

[D Dub]

A top tier free agent would sign with the Celtics because their current team just won the championship without him, cementing his role much further down the food chain than need be when you are the best at what you do in the game, and right in the prime of your career. 

Sometimes you have to climb out on a limb to taste the sweetest fruit of all.