There's a few folks who keep derailing threads to point out how awful and negative my opinions are. I'm an admittedly pessimistic person, but I've been posting here for over a decade... there's been plenty of things over the years I've been excited about with this team. I was obsessed with Paul Pierce's rise to the top, for instance (steadily improving every year). I was gonzo about Al Jefferson's potential. I was quick to point out Delonte West's shooting streak (dude shot like 60%/60%/90% one month... there was a point where he looked like he might end up being one of the best shooters in the world), the KG era was a tiny miracle... 3.5 years of contending. More recently, I was thrilled with our potential to land a top 8 pick in the 2014 draft... we landed the 6th pick and got a quality asset in Marcus Smart.
The problem is, right now, there's not a ton to be enthusiastic about. This team is in the exact position we have wanted to avoid... a borderline .500 team is a path towards perpetual mediocrity. There's no star on this team. Our trade options seem dismal. Teams don't sound overly interested in our assets. We haven't been able to consolidate picks on draft night. Our best free agent signing was more about creating a tradeable contract... If I come across gloomy it's because overall there's few things to realistically be giddy about.
That said, there are some things I find encouraging... and here's a list of them in no particular order.
- Avery Bradley's November. 17 points, 2.1 asissts, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals with 48%/42%/72% shooting. That's borderline all-star numbers. He fell a bit in December, but those November numbers were encouraging. For the season, Bradley is averaging 15 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals with 44%/38%/80% shooting in 31.4 minutes... that's really pretty good. It's roughly the same as his averages 2 years ago. Bradley seems to have proven himself as a solid starter-level talent in this league.
- Jae Crowder's improvement. Crowder is proving himself to be a quality SF in this league. Last month, he averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1 steal with 46%/37%/82% shooting. If he keeps that up, that's awesome. So far this month, it's been more of the same. I don't expect him to make a leap into stardom (he's already 25 years old), but he's a hardnosed defender and proving to be an adequate offensive player. Some folks hoped he'd be our Demarre Carroll... I'd rather have Jae than Carroll.
- Marcus Smart's defense. Say what you want about his offense... he's a special defender. I still have hope that he'll develop into a 2-way player. He's 21 years old and has a fighter mentality. As disappointed as I've been with him, I'm not counting him out.
- The Brooklyn pick - My god. This could be amazing. I still don't want to get my hopes up with it, because I think it could still creep out of the bottom 10, but man... this is the highlight of our entire season. There's a legitimate chance that pick is going to net us our next franchise player. That pick is coming very close to leapfrogging Marcus Smart as our most valuable asset.
- Our position as a trade partner - I actually think our lack of options is overblown. We don't know what's happening behind closed doors. I read recently that Ainge is unlikely to make a move that straps this team with a big contract, because they want to maintain flexibility as a free agent destination... and at least keep open the possibility of adding two max contracts this Summer. So I think it's actually pretty possible that a guy like Tobias Harris or Gallinari could be had... but I think Boston is smartly avoiding making an "incremental improvement" and awaiting a real talent to appear. With Lee's 15 mil expiring, Jerebko's 5 mil expiring, Amir's 12 mil expiring, multiple 1st round picks and prospects, you have to like our chances in the trade market if a star actually becomes available. Ainge has positioned this team very well.
- Ainge - Building on above, I have nothing but glowing things to say about Danny Ainge. That guy gets it. There's no GM i'd rather have running this team. People will occasionally dump on him in this forum by playing Monday Morning Quarterback about guys he wiffed on in the draft. That's silly. You can't pinpoint the 1 guy out of 30 that the majority of teams passed on and blame Ainge for not grabbing him. Ainge is a phenomenal GM. He usually gets value in the draft. Usually we don't even have a high enough draft pick that "wiffing" can even be considered an option... if you fail to draft a star at #22, who cares? If we wiffed on a bunch of top 5 picks, that would be a problem... but so far Marcus Smart at #6 is the highest pick we've had in ages... and the jury is out on that. Ainge wins basically every trade he makes to the point that I think he may have burned bridges around the league. The fact that we have Brooklyn's picks is a testament to his brilliance... he gave up elderly players for multiple unprotected 1sts... turned trade exceptions into 1sts... turned a late 1st into Thomas... grabbed Crowder and a pick for Rondo on his way out, etc... He gets it. If there's a trade to be made to make this team a contender, Ainge will find it.
- Brad Stevens - Phenomenal young coach. The basketball MacGyver... he can win 40 games with a box of tissues, a paperclip, and super glue. I am so supportive of Coach Stevens that it's the main reason I was on board with the run last year... I wanted the team to build some momentum so that the players continued to buy into Brad's system, a winning culture was formed, and Brad stayed content enough that he didn't jump ship for a College program. I'm happy he's here. I hope we put the pieces in place to help this team be truly relevant while Brad is still the guy in charge.
- Kelly Olynyk - I've created threads about Olynyk before. I'm really interested to see what he can do with extended time playing 30+ minutes a night as a starter. He shoots 45% with 39% from three. I want to see him get in a rhythm. I remain convinced that with enough minutes and a defined role, Olynyk could average 17 and 7 for a team. I don't think he'll be a star. I don't see him as a Center... but if a sweeping trade clears out minutes and Olynyk ends up our default starting PF, I think I'm ok with that.
- Isaiah Thomas - I'm not as high on him as others, but it's hard not to give him props for his numbers this year... 21 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds 1.3 steals... I wouldn't be shocked to see an All-star appearance. HIs efficiency isn't that grand (41% with 33% from three) and his defense is questionable... but considering we stole this guy for a Cavs pick that we only got in the first place due to a absorbing Tyler Zeller with a trade exception.... come on... that's pretty awesome.
- Jordan Mickey - I put almost no stock in summer league or D-league, but it's fair to point out he was exceptional in both. He's one of the best players in all of D-league this year... 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 4.6 blocks with 52% shooting.... I in no way expect Mickey to be a star... he probably will never even start, but he's someone it's hard not to feel optimistic about. I am very interested to see what he can do with some NBA minutes.
- Boston as a Free Agent Destination - I disagree with most who claim Boston will never sign a free agent. I don't understand that at all. Our problem has been that up until last season, this team literally never had cap space. We were always over the cap. Last year was our first real shot and the options were slim. That said, we'll have lots of cap this summer, the Celtics are a prestige franchise, our front office and coach are elite, we have one of the 3 largest fanbases nationally, Boston is far from being a "small market"... and the team is pretty decent. This isn't a tanking team... they want to win... they play hard... and they win half their games in spite of an obvious lack of talent. Yes, it would be easier if we had another star here already (if you don't count Thomas as one), but nonetheless... Every free agent should be taking our calls this Summer and onward.
Overall, it's hard to clearly see our path towards success. We have a ton riding on that Brooklyn pick. But there's some obvious things to be encouraged about. I'd be happier if we had some prospects other than Smart that had star potential. We obviously need to make a trade at some point to consolidate some of our mediocrity... but overall, I'm very pleased with what Ainge has done and remain hopeful for the future.
