But maybe he should? Or maybe not.
You do have to admire the team's patience. You have to wonder if the options just aren't there or if the team thinks they can do better.
From what I understand, the price was "too high" to move up on draft night. It's unclear if "too high" means "impossible". Reportedly we were willing to give up 6 draft picks to move up to #9, but I've heard conflicting information on what those picks entailed. I've heard that 4 of them might have been worthless 2nd round fodder. The other two were probably #16 and #28. I'd turn that down too. Reportedly, we were willing to give up Sullinger for #4. Well, yeah... obviously we were willing to give up Sullinger for #4. That's a no brainer. Did we attempt to give up more than that? It's unclear. It seems Ainge decided they were better off saving the assets and seeing where free agency lead us.
Free agency has been a bust. We apparently couldn't even get meetings with top players like Love and Aldridge. It's been reported that the team is trying to maximize flexibility for bigger fish. Bigger fish than Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love? So instead we bring back a couple of our guys (Crowder/Jerebko) and swap out Bass with an overpaid Amir Johnson. Granted, the Johnson contract should be tradeable later this season.
So now what... the team is setting themselves up to stay in the running for a potential DeMarcus Cousins trade? They are holding out hope that when Philly inevitably trades one of their franchise bigs, we'll be able to make an offer? Waiting to see if Melo becomes available? Someone else?
Waiting.... waiting... waiting...
So fine. I begrudgingly respect it. There's no master plan here. We'll probably roll our assets into next season and hope for the best. I'm trying to look into Ainge's mind and here's what I'd guess he's thinking:
- "Well, let's see if Smart can develop into more than a defensive role player. He can only really gain value from here. Kid could be special. Let's not Billups or Joe Johnson him."
- "Well let's see how Sully looks. He was averaging like 17 points, and 9 rebounds before his injury... he put up a respectable 12 points, 7 rebonds during the playoffs (in on 20mpg). Healthy Sully can only gain value."
- "Let's see if James Young shows some growth. Kid has a lot of potential. Let's keep an eye on him in summer league. In a few short weeks, teams might have him on their radar."
- "You know what, let's just throw all these rookies into the fire and see if one of them surprises us. Rozier might turn heads. RJ Hunter might be something. MIckey might be something. Teams might be interested after summer league"
- "Olynyk shot 53%/48%/100% during the final month of the season. Let's see what he can do with a bigger role next year. "
- "Let's give Crowder a bigger shot. He seems to be developing. Maybe he'll improve."
- "You know, Evan Turner was actually kind of impressive once we ran the ball through him. 11 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds post-all-star. Let's start him out of the gate and see if we can eventually sell high on him."
- "Let's see what happens with these Brooklyn picks. Sure, they are probably a playoff team next year, but maybe... just maybe... they'll end up bottom 5"
- "Let's see what happens with this Dallas pick next year. If they strike out on DeAndre Jordan and Dirk gets injured, it's not unthinkable that we'll have a lotto pick"
- "We finished the season at a 50 win pace. Maybe it wasn't a fluke? Let's see if this Isaiah Thomas gimmick is sustainable. "
- "Let's see if how Amir Johnson fits in. Maybe we can inflate his trade value and flip him in a few months"
- "Let's not screw ourselves out of a shot at getting DeMarcus Cousins. Let's not do anything until that shoe drops"
- "Let's keep in constant communication with Philly. Save every last asset so when they are ready to cash in, we'll be the first people they call. Noel/Embiid/Okafor... doesn't matter"
- "Let's see who enters the trade market next season. Maybe better options will become available"
- "You know what... maybe we should just wait until next offseason... Let Wallace expire organically... try to convince Durant to come here and bring two of his best friends at max money. Let's not blow our wad on long term deals to guys like Monta Ellis"
Waiting... waiting... waiting...
Perhaps it's the smart move. But at some point do you have to wonder if maybe we're just perpetually "waiting until next year". We'll always have questions about our assets. When is it time to just cash in with the best you can get? Teams are improving. Talent attracts talent. The teams that are improving will be first in line to improve again next year when the cap jumps 20 mil. Those teams will be first in line to improve again a year after that when the cap jumps all the way to 108 mil. If Boston couldn't get meetings with free agents this year, what makes us think we can get meetings with them in 2016 or 2017? What if all of our assets bust? What if Smart peaks at poor man's Tony Allen? What if Sully eats himself to death? What if Olynyk's t-rex arms never grow? What if Jerry Hozier can't even crack our d-league? What if the Brooklyn and Dallas (who just signed DeAndre Jordan literally as I'm typing this sentence) picks end up in the unwanted 15-20 range?. What if we can't beat the Lakers offer for Cousins? What if Philly has no interest in our assets and trades one of the bigs to a team that can offer an allstar at a different position? What if Brad gets fed up with the roster and bails for the NCAA? What this roster struggles into a 32 win season next year (completely plausible) and we're stuck picking in the 12-17 range again?
I respect that Danny isn't panicking... but maybe he should.
