Danny Ainge's Plan if We Win The Lottery (Poll Added)

[beantownboy171]

Pick Simmons done . what else do you need to do

We will be an amazing team for years to come

Simmons may never be as good as Cousins is right now. The hype factor inflates players value heading into the draft. We think Simmons is a generational talent, but we know Cousins is.

You must be jokkkin

What if it meant getting Durant and Cousins versus just developing Simmons.

[greece66]

Pure speculation. But I believe this scenario would develop if we were to luck out and win the lottery, meaning we have the #1 pick netting us the rights to Ben Simmons. I know Danny Ainge goes through every possible scenario and i'm sure that this possibility has crossed his mind.

Let me paint the picture for you:

The Boston Celtics finish the season going 30-10 in the last 40 games. We're the number 3 seed. As of today the number 3 seed would face the Miami Heat in the first round. The Celtics make it to the ECF and give the Cavs a run for their money.

Brad Steven wins coach of the year.

The Sacramento Kings fall just short of making the playoffs, another disappointing finish. They have an encouraging year, however they go into the offseason not knowing if Rajon Rondo will return for another season.

Celtics fan's disappointment from the loss to the Cavs in the eastern conference finals is quickly was away by the elation of winning the lottery, netting them this years prodigy du jour Ben Simmons.

The Celtics are now the talk of the town. And while Lebron is technically still the king of the east folks can't help but speculate that it won't be long until the Celtics return to usurp him. Let's go over the resume at this point:

- The Celtics have a fresh new All-Star in Isaiah Thomas.
- Young players Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each show off how their games have developed in an extended playoff run.
- A coach of the year in Brad Stevens. Whose pace and space offense coupled with exceptional team defense has the same good qualities of the teams you want to be right now. Golden State and San Antonio.
- The #1 pick, Ben Simmons.
- 2 additional Nets Picks along with plenty of smaller assets.
- As much cap space as you'll need

Sure there's a big fish in the years draft. But there is also one available in free agency who doesn't get talked about much around this site. It might not have seemed like a real possibility earlier in the year, but as circumstance unfold we've become a highly intriguing free agent destination.

I'm talking about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant wants to be on a championship team. He could be interested in a change of scenery as the current cast of characters in Oklahoma City have proven again to not have enough in them to win a championship. It may be unfair, by the feeling seems to be that the Thunder have peeked. It doesn't help that the Golden State Warriors seem to have point together a team so strong that it feels as though to stand any chance against them you'll have to be great.

So Durant will sit there this offseason and be looking for a situation where greatness is possible. I strongly feel that the Boston Celtics will be the destination that stands out from the rest. The biggest reason will be Brad Stevens, the hottest young coach in the league who seems to get more out his teams than any coach not named Popovich.

The other big reason that will entice Durant is that no other team has a greater capacity to acquire talent to pair with Durant via trade. This is significant because every team will have cap space this summer, including the Celtics. But the treasure chest of assets will give Danny Ainge access to a pool of players that other teams can't touch. It doesn't hurt from a negotiating stand that the Celtics have been able to find this success without yet turning the assets into anything.

If your really looking around as a free agent, the Celtics are the situation you want to get in on. This is like Microsoft stock in its early days or creating a social media platform in the mid- 2000s. You either get in on the party or it's going to happen with out you.

I think that we have the potential to stand out to Kevin Durant even is we end up with the #3 or later. But if ping pong ball grant us Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram here is an offer Danny Ainge can put of the table. A new Big 3:

Isaiah Thomas
Kevin Durant
Demarcus Cousins

The only way we can convince Sacramento to part with Cousins this offseason is if we can offer a prospect like Ben Simmons, and possibly if it was Ingram instead. It mind be difficult for Divac and ownership to part with Cousins as he blossoms into super star form. However, few could argue that there could ever be a better chance to sell high on Cousins. He is coming off his best year while on his best behavior and teams trading for him know that with a couple years remaining on his contract they'd have to blow the Kings away with an offer.

If they were offered Ben Simmons for Cousins they'd have to face the fact that they would never get a better offer for Cousins. They would have a wider window to build around a top talent and they would get other assets to put it into motion. Here's the offer:

Celtics acquire:
Demarcus Cousins

Kings acquire:
Ben Simmons
#18 overall (Mavericks)
2017 or 2018 Nets Pick (Their Choice)
#31 overall
#35 overall
201??? Memphis First Rounder
Terry Rozier
James Young
Amir Johnson (non-guarnteed, cap space)

It's a lot to offer. The Kings would probably ask for more at first. Namely insisting that Crowder or Smart be included. But those two players are so ingrained within the identity of team that Ainge would do anything he could to keep them out of the deal.

The Kings can play hard ball, but I think they'll also know that if they let Ben Simmons start his career in a Celtics uniform that Boston may just decide to keep him. Which is why I think we'd have enough leverage to keep our current core out of the deal.

This was one form of the trade that I came up with, i'm open to other suggestions and opinions about what the trade would have to look like. But the smaller a parts are not as important as this question; Would you trade Ben Simmons for Demarcus Cousins?

If my trade scenario were the one to manifest the team would look like this without any additional moves:

Starting Lineup:
Isaiah Thomas
Avery Bradley
Kevin Durant
Jae Crowder
Demarcus Cousins

Bench Unit:
Marcus Smart
Kelly Olynyk
Jonas Jerebko
Evan Turner (If re-signed)
Jared Sullinger (If re-signed)
Jordan Mickey
RJ Hunter


This scenario is an illustration of why Danny Ainge may want to stand pat at the trade deadline if players like Horford and Griffin are going to cost them some of their best assets. It may be better to stay patient and wait to find the right fit. This team, as it currently stands, has tremendous chemistry and it may be better if we didn't disrupt the rotations we have.

Thoughts?

Fixed

[LarBrd33]

I'd 100% trade that pick and several other assets for Cousins right now.

I wouldn't trade Ben Simmons for Cousins, though.  I'd love to see us build around a young superstar prospect.  That'd be awesome.  It's true Simmons might never be as good as Cousins, but I can't imagine trading that guy if we landed him.

I'm so jealous of teams like the WOlves that get to watch Wiggins and Towns progress.   For me personally, there's nothing more fun than watching a prospect blossom into a star.   Watching Pierce grow every game was arguably as exciting as watching the team contend during our 3.5 year window.

[Csfan1984]

So after landing Simmons he wouldn't trade IT for Giannis.
Then AB to Thunder for Payne but Payne goes to Jazz for Gobert.
Finally Crowder to Wolves for LaVine and a 1st?

Smart, Lavine, Giannis, Simmons, Gobert.


Jk just making the point that we never know if by winning the 1st pick DA decides to try to build around Simmons with younger players that will grow with him.

[beantownboy171]

Pure speculation. But I believe this scenario would develop if we were to luck out and win the lottery, meaning we have the #1 pick netting us the rights to Ben Simmons. I know Danny Ainge goes through every possible scenario and i'm sure that this possibility has crossed his mind.

Let me paint the picture for you:

The Boston Celtics finish the season going 30-10 in the last 40 games. We're the number 3 seed. As of today the number 3 seed would face the Miami Heat in the first round. The Celtics make it to the ECF and give the Cavs a run for their money.

Brad Steven wins coach of the year.

The Sacramento Kings fall just short of making the playoffs, another disappointing finish. They have an encouraging year, however they go into the offseason not knowing if Rajon Rondo will return for another season.

Celtics fan's disappointment from the loss to the Cavs in the eastern conference finals is quickly was away by the elation of winning the lottery, netting them this years prodigy du jour Ben Simmons.

The Celtics are now the talk of the town. And while Lebron is technically still the king of the east folks can't help but speculate that it won't be long until the Celtics return to usurp him. Let's go over the resume at this point:

- The Celtics have a fresh new All-Star in Isaiah Thomas.
- Young players Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each show off how their games have developed in an extended playoff run.
- A coach of the year in Brad Stevens. Whose pace and space offense coupled with exceptional team defense has the same good qualities of the teams you want to be right now. Golden State and San Antonio.
- The #1 pick, Ben Simmons.
- 2 additional Nets Picks along with plenty of smaller assets.
- As much cap space as you'll need

Sure there's a big fish in the years draft. But there is also one available in free agency who doesn't get talked about much around this site. It might not have seemed like a real possibility earlier in the year, but as circumstance unfold we've become a highly intriguing free agent destination.

I'm talking about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant wants to be on a championship team. He could be interested in a change of scenery as the current cast of characters in Oklahoma City have proven again to not have enough in them to win a championship. It may be unfair, by the feeling seems to be that the Thunder have peeked. It doesn't help that the Golden State Warriors seem to have point together a team so strong that it feels as though to stand any chance against them you'll have to be great.

So Durant will sit there this offseason and be looking for a situation where greatness is possible. I strongly feel that the Boston Celtics will be the destination that stands out from the rest. The biggest reason will be Brad Stevens, the hottest young coach in the league who seems to get more out his teams than any coach not named Popovich.

The other big reason that will entice Durant is that no other team has a greater capacity to acquire talent to pair with Durant via trade. This is significant because every team will have cap space this summer, including the Celtics. But the treasure chest of assets will give Danny Ainge access to a pool of players that other teams can't touch. It doesn't hurt from a negotiating stand that the Celtics have been able to find this success without yet turning the assets into anything.

If your really looking around as a free agent, the Celtics are the situation you want to get in on. This is like Microsoft stock in its early days or creating a social media platform in the mid- 2000s. You either get in on the party or it's going to happen with out you.

I think that we have the potential to stand out to Kevin Durant even is we end up with the #3 or later. But if ping pong ball grant us Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram here is an offer Danny Ainge can put of the table. A new Big 3:

Isaiah Thomas
Kevin Durant
Demarcus Cousins

The only way we can convince Sacramento to part with Cousins this offseason is if we can offer a prospect like Ben Simmons, and possibly if it was Ingram instead. It mind be difficult for Divac and ownership to part with Cousins as he blossoms into super star form. However, few could argue that there could ever be a better chance to sell high on Cousins. He is coming off his best year while on his best behavior and teams trading for him know that with a couple years remaining on his contract they'd have to blow the Kings away with an offer.

If they were offered Ben Simmons for Cousins they'd have to face the fact that they would never get a better offer for Cousins. They would have a wider window to build around a top talent and they would get other assets to put it into motion. Here's the offer:

Celtics acquire:
Demarcus Cousins

Kings acquire:
Ben Simmons
#18 overall (Mavericks)
2017 or 2018 Nets Pick (Their Choice)
#31 overall
#35 overall
201??? Memphis First Rounder
Terry Rozier
James Young
Amir Johnson (non-guarnteed, cap space)

It's a lot to offer. The Kings would probably ask for more at first. Namely insisting that Crowder or Smart be included. But those two players are so ingrained within the identity of team that Ainge would do anything he could to keep them out of the deal.

The Kings can play hard ball, but I think they'll also know that if they let Ben Simmons start his career in a Celtics uniform that Boston may just decide to keep him. Which is why I think we'd have enough leverage to keep our current core out of the deal.

This was one form of the trade that I came up with, i'm open to other suggestions and opinions about what the trade would have to look like. But the smaller a parts are not as important as this question; Would you trade Ben Simmons for Demarcus Cousins?

If my trade scenario were the one to manifest the team would look like this without any additional moves:

Starting Lineup:
Isaiah Thomas
Avery Bradley
Kevin Durant
Jae Crowder
Demarcus Cousins

Bench Unit:
Marcus Smart
Kelly Olynyk
Jonas Jerebko
Evan Turner (If re-signed)
Jared Sullinger (If re-signed)
Jordan Mickey
RJ Hunter


This scenario is an illustration of why Danny Ainge may want to stand pat at the trade deadline if players like Horford and Griffin are going to cost them some of their best assets. It may be better to stay patient and wait to find the right fit. This team, as it currently stands, has tremendous chemistry and it may be better if we didn't disrupt the rotations we have.

Thoughts?

Fixed

What exactly do you think we're doing here? It's a sports blog.

[AngryAndIrritable]

I'd 100% trade that pick and several other assets for Cousins right now.

I wouldn't trade Ben Simmons for Cousins, though.  I'd love to see us build around a young superstar prospect.  That'd be awesome.  It's true Simmons might never be as good as Cousins, but I can't imagine trading that guy if we landed him.

I'm so jealous of teams like the WOlves that get to watch Wiggins and Towns progress.   For me personally, there's nothing more fun than watching a prospect blossom into a star.   Watching Pierce grow every game was arguably as exciting as watching the team contend during our 3.5 year window.

There's always that desire to watch 'your guy' grow and develop into a stellar player. I must admit to being fascinated and also slightly sick to my stomach about how well Towns is shaping up under the Wolves' and KG's mentoring.

[Redz]

Pure speculation. But I believe this scenario would develop if we were to luck out and win the lottery, meaning we have the #1 pick netting us the rights to Ben Simmons. I know Danny Ainge goes through every possible scenario and i'm sure that this possibility has crossed his mind.

Let me paint the picture for you:

The Boston Celtics finish the season going 30-10 in the last 40 games. We're the number 3 seed. As of today the number 3 seed would face the Miami Heat in the first round. The Celtics make it to the ECF and give the Cavs a run for their money.

Brad Steven wins coach of the year.

The Sacramento Kings fall just short of making the playoffs, another disappointing finish. They have an encouraging year, however they go into the offseason not knowing if Rajon Rondo will return for another season.

Celtics fan's disappointment from the loss to the Cavs in the eastern conference finals is quickly was away by the elation of winning the lottery, netting them this years prodigy du jour Ben Simmons.

The Celtics are now the talk of the town. And while Lebron is technically still the king of the east folks can't help but speculate that it won't be long until the Celtics return to usurp him. Let's go over the resume at this point:

- The Celtics have a fresh new All-Star in Isaiah Thomas.
- Young players Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each show off how their games have developed in an extended playoff run.
- A coach of the year in Brad Stevens. Whose pace and space offense coupled with exceptional team defense has the same good qualities of the teams you want to be right now. Golden State and San Antonio.
- The #1 pick, Ben Simmons.
- 2 additional Nets Picks along with plenty of smaller assets.
- As much cap space as you'll need

Sure there's a big fish in the years draft. But there is also one available in free agency who doesn't get talked about much around this site. It might not have seemed like a real possibility earlier in the year, but as circumstance unfold we've become a highly intriguing free agent destination.

I'm talking about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant wants to be on a championship team. He could be interested in a change of scenery as the current cast of characters in Oklahoma City have proven again to not have enough in them to win a championship. It may be unfair, by the feeling seems to be that the Thunder have peeked. It doesn't help that the Golden State Warriors seem to have point together a team so strong that it feels as though to stand any chance against them you'll have to be great.

So Durant will sit there this offseason and be looking for a situation where greatness is possible. I strongly feel that the Boston Celtics will be the destination that stands out from the rest. The biggest reason will be Brad Stevens, the hottest young coach in the league who seems to get more out his teams than any coach not named Popovich.

The other big reason that will entice Durant is that no other team has a greater capacity to acquire talent to pair with Durant via trade. This is significant because every team will have cap space this summer, including the Celtics. But the treasure chest of assets will give Danny Ainge access to a pool of players that other teams can't touch. It doesn't hurt from a negotiating stand that the Celtics have been able to find this success without yet turning the assets into anything.

If your really looking around as a free agent, the Celtics are the situation you want to get in on. This is like Microsoft stock in its early days or creating a social media platform in the mid- 2000s. You either get in on the party or it's going to happen with out you.

I think that we have the potential to stand out to Kevin Durant even is we end up with the #3 or later. But if ping pong ball grant us Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram here is an offer Danny Ainge can put of the table. A new Big 3:

Isaiah Thomas
Kevin Durant
Demarcus Cousins

The only way we can convince Sacramento to part with Cousins this offseason is if we can offer a prospect like Ben Simmons, and possibly if it was Ingram instead. It mind be difficult for Divac and ownership to part with Cousins as he blossoms into super star form. However, few could argue that there could ever be a better chance to sell high on Cousins. He is coming off his best year while on his best behavior and teams trading for him know that with a couple years remaining on his contract they'd have to blow the Kings away with an offer.

If they were offered Ben Simmons for Cousins they'd have to face the fact that they would never get a better offer for Cousins. They would have a wider window to build around a top talent and they would get other assets to put it into motion. Here's the offer:

Celtics acquire:
Demarcus Cousins

Kings acquire:
Ben Simmons
#18 overall (Mavericks)
2017 or 2018 Nets Pick (Their Choice)
#31 overall
#35 overall
201??? Memphis First Rounder
Terry Rozier
James Young
Amir Johnson (non-guarnteed, cap space)

It's a lot to offer. The Kings would probably ask for more at first. Namely insisting that Crowder or Smart be included. But those two players are so ingrained within the identity of team that Ainge would do anything he could to keep them out of the deal.

The Kings can play hard ball, but I think they'll also know that if they let Ben Simmons start his career in a Celtics uniform that Boston may just decide to keep him. Which is why I think we'd have enough leverage to keep our current core out of the deal.

This was one form of the trade that I came up with, i'm open to other suggestions and opinions about what the trade would have to look like. But the smaller a parts are not as important as this question; Would you trade Ben Simmons for Demarcus Cousins?

If my trade scenario were the one to manifest the team would look like this without any additional moves:

Starting Lineup:
Isaiah Thomas
Avery Bradley
Kevin Durant
Jae Crowder
Demarcus Cousins

Bench Unit:
Marcus Smart
Kelly Olynyk
Jonas Jerebko
Evan Turner (If re-signed)
Jared Sullinger (If re-signed)
Jordan Mickey
RJ Hunter


This scenario is an illustration of why Danny Ainge may want to stand pat at the trade deadline if players like Horford and Griffin are going to cost them some of their best assets. It may be better to stay patient and wait to find the right fit. This team, as it currently stands, has tremendous chemistry and it may be better if we didn't disrupt the rotations we have.

Thoughts?

Fixed

What exactly do you think we're doing here? It's a sports blog.

Yeh, I don't know if there's a rule specifically against it, but the fixed quotes are kind of demeaning.  Especially when someone has clearly put some effort into a post.

[SHAQATTACK]

Take Simmons

Trade anything else for Cousins

[furball]

I think this has become a moot point.  I don't think Sacramento trades Cousins.  He couldn't play any better, he gets along with Rondo who is also excelling.  They are probably looking to add to the team (a defensive player or two) not blow it up. 

[chambers]

TP for the sunny outlook.

I like your vision, and your end result is basically what Ainge will try to do. People laugh, but if we get that #1 pick, he will attempt pretty much exactly what you're talking about.
I think we're more likely to get Blake Griffin instead of Simmons, but either one would be franchise changing, especially while we have Crowder, Bradley and IT in their primes with Smart coming along.

The reality is that it has about a 5% chance or less of turning out this way, even if we get the #1 pick. Which at this stage is about a 15-20% chance.

The other reality is that if we get the #1 pick, we have made it and we will finally have the piece to build around. I'd say the same if we get Ingram with the #2- he's going to be a top 10 player in my opinion once he puts on some weight- which he will with his wide frame and enormous feet/hands.

But yeah, Ainge will probably try and build an immediate contender. It will be interesting to see which players he would actually trade the #1 pick for, and I think there's only a handful of guys that he would do that for in the league. If none of those guys are available, then he'll take Ben or Ingram and we'll roll with them and coach Brad for the next 10 years.

We talk about wanting a quick turnaround, but if we were lucky enough to get Simmons, it would be like getting Anthony Davis- the franchise plan is flipped on his head and everything is focused on building around him.

[Celtics PRIDE Never Die]

I think you are 100% on about the idea of Ainge using the #1 pick if he got it as a way to attempt to entice Durant.  It lets him go to Durant and ask him who he'd rather play with: Ben Simmons or a guy like Cousins or whoever else that Simmons could be dealt for (which is a lot of guys considering the value that a Ben Simmons holds).  And it just so happens that in a lot of cases, NBA players prefer proven NBA studs over hyped up 19 year old college kids they aren't totally sure are the real deal and/or how long they'll take to reach their full potential. 

See CLE trading Wiggins for Love to get LeBron to come back (and I know that trade happened after LeBron came back, but that was only because Wiggins couldn't be dealt for 30 days after the draft- that deal was in place all along).  If CLE doesn't win the lottery, does LeBron really go back to CLE to play with Kyrie and role players?  I highly doubt it.  Winning that lottery and knowing it would deliver Kevin Love ended up bringing LeBron James back to the Cavs. 

If Celtics win the lottery, don't be surprised at all if Ainge tries to pull off something similar with Durant.  Whether that's Cousins or signing a Kevin Durant and Al Horford package deal and moving the pick for a Rudy Gobert, who those 2 may prefer to play with more than a 19 year old kid (and most importantly, makes $2M so allows us to save max cap space for 2 guys like Durant and Horford).  I expect Ainge to go to Durant and present multiple roster options to him, particularly if we somehow get lucky and win the lottery, which increases our options tenfold.

It's not neccessarily about getting the best value for the pick.  In a vacuum Simmons has a lot more value than guys like Cousins (purely due to how insane he is) and especially Gobert.  But if it leads to Kevin Durant, you can bet Simmons would be shipped out in 2 seconds just like Andrew Wiggins was.  Someone as good as LeBron or Durant always calls the shots in situations like this.  They are the FA's, they have the leverage and the rosters will be molded towards what they want the most more so than what the GM would typically do.

I'm also less convinced than others that Durant is a lock to stay in OKC.  Yes, they are real good.  But they've been real good for how long and still haven't come particularly close to winning a title?  Where is the evidence they are about to get over the hump either?  Clearly the 3rd best team in West, and GS is super young and going nowhere anytime soon even if SA fades some soon.  It's not like OKC will have cap space or quality picks to improve in the future, either.

If they get bounced in 2nd round again (which seems likely at this point), it wouldn't surprise me at all if Durant was fed up of the same thing every year: great regular seasons and super talented teams that just can't beat the absolute best teams in the league.  And it wouldn't surprise me if their owners history of shipping off talent like Harden (for a mind bogglingly awful return at that) over luxury tax concerns rubbed Durant the wrong way.