He didn't need to get a deal done. We're playing with house money. We're in the midst of a rebuild and had back-to-back trips to the playoffs. We got this pick because he conned some team into insanely overpaying for two geriatrics with a foot in retirement. We already have Isaiah Thomas thanks to that trade. This #3 pick is just a bonus at this point. Then we have two more picks. It's ridiculous.
People keep saying that as if it is true. It's not house money. The moment the Pierce and Garnett trade occurred, it became your money. If you make a lousy pick, it's your squandered resources.
I think Ainge has done at least an above average job here, but all that "house money" talk doesn't make any sense.
Ok...
He got like 20x the value of those guys. Every asset he received is still part of the roster. The only one we're close to wasting is James Young. Frankly, Ainge could have traded KG and Pierce for a mid 1st and it would have made sense at that point. I would have been like "Wow... can't believe someone gave us a mid 1st for those guys... they are basically cooked". I would have maybe wanted a little more, but I would have understood it. Then, you could sit here bellyaching that we whiffed it on the pick (James Young), but Young is still only 20 years old and the roster is too stacked for him to even get developmental minutes yet.
But then consider that on top of that, we got Isiah Thomas - an all-star. That's success as-is. The value for those two geriatrics was a mid 1st... we got that + Isiah Thomas. That's a win.
But that's not all - he also got this #3 pick. And people are already acting like it's a bust when the dude is 19 years old and hasn't played a Summerleague game. That's absurd. So far, it's a win.
Then we have the Brooklyn swap next year which might still net a decent pick.
Then another 1st rounder from Brooklyn the year after that.
It's crazy. The assumption that we need to do something greater with this found money is warped. We have a young team. We are on a reasonable path. We aren't trading any of these assets for steph curry or LeBron James. This generation doesn't belong to us. So we just have to build for the future and hope these guys develop into something substantial.
Also, there's still a pretty reasonable chance we make a significant move in free agency. So writing off Danny when he's half way through one of the biggest trade heists in history doesn't make any logical sense.
So far, we're absolutely dominating the Brooklyn trade. Five years from now we'll have an even greater perspective.