Speaking of which:
Bulpett: Why Celtics’ pursuit of Kevin Love is unlikely to heat up
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2015/06/bulpett_why_celtics_pursuit_of_kevin_love_is_unlikely_to
Blah blah blah.
According to Bulpett, the Celts won't improve at all this year and we'll probably have to wait til hell freezes over for the Celts to win another championship.
Not exactly.
Add into that the uncertainty of what can happen between now and the end of draft night when the Celtics have two picks in each round and the potential for major trades. The chance that the roster could be altered significantly is very real, bringing with it the potential for yet another perspective.
Bulpett's point was that the circumstances last summer were different and the fate of Rondo and Green were dependent on Love's acquisition which seems reasonable and made the Love acquisition a higher priority.
As far as Bulpett's claim that Ainge was upset about getting into the playoffs, Danny wouldn't say that even if true. However, Danny did say that he was happy that the Cs were playing meaningful games late in the season which is at odds with Bulpett's and certain CBloggers' tanking-gone-wrong narrative.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/03/26/ainge-season-wont-be-a-failure-if-celtics-miss-playoffs/
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I'm reading the same thing from every NBA pundit who talks about the Cs this off-season. Ainge is looking to make big deals. There's no way he's making all those picks the next 4 years, he's got a ton of cap room, he's got the temperament to take risks, and he has the support of ownership to do so.
Bullpett thinks that Love only had interest in Boston last season, and the C's had interest in him, because we had "stars" to put him next to in Rondo and Green. He thinks that once we traded them, any real chance of Love coming here as a FA in the next year or two went out the window because why would Love wanna come here without Rondo and JG to play with? It's almost like he's totally ignored what his colleagues have said on the subject. Both Woj and Lowe, IMO the most well connected two NBA journalists today, have said both the Celtics and Love still have that same mutual interest.
Look, nearly everyone with an ounce of league connections has been saying Love is going to opt-out this summer and at the very least explore his options. He could choose to re-sign in Cleveland, if they want him back after he opts out, but he's still probably gonna look around. It's pretty much a three horse race for him between the Cavs, the Lakers and Boston. Anyone who says we aren't at least in the running for Love is being too pessimistic.
Bulpett is basing his conjecture on some idea that Love wants to come play on a team with "stars" and since we lack those, he won't come. But the whole reason Love will probably opt out is because he doesn't want to waste away his prime relegated to being a stretch-4, and more importantly, he just doesn't fit in with LeBron and his hand-picked posse over there in Cleveland. Love wants to be an offensive focal point on a team that can compete in the playoffs and has a locker room he can feel comfortable in. Why would Love want to come here and play with a Rondo/Green led team that couldn't sniff the playoffs in the weak east, but wouldn't want to play on a clearly superior team that while lacking in stars, has a good young supporting cast who made the playoffs last year without him, who have an excellent coach and a tight-nit locker room led by one of his best friends in IT? That sounds more appealing than Rondo and Green, for sure.
If Love decides to leave Cleveland, Boston has a legit chance at grabbing him. The guy likes Boston, he likes the Celtics and now that IT is here, he may finally find a place he can be comfortable in that can maximize his talents. That matters to him, more than most people probably realize.