Danny Ainge on the pursuit of Kevin Durant

[meangreenmachine]

Durant doesn't have the mentality of a winner and he is somewhat of a choker. DA did his best, but apparently winning hollow rings is more important to the guy.

Im not satisfied with our roster. We still either need a Jimmy Butler or a Khris Middleton.

Durant































Jimmy Butler









Khris Middleton

I think Middleton's contract puts him a line below Butler. Dude is on a very cap-friendly contract. Factor in his youth, and it is close. The only question is whether he can develop his defense to the level of a Butler.

[manl_lui]

I want another run at him next year, since he has a player option in year 2. We want to improve but I don't think we should blow our money for the sake of signing someone to please a fanbase.

[LGC88]

Knowing that KD was well aware of what is Boston as an organisation and what it means to be a Celtics, he had chosen GS. Which means we shouldn't have any regrets. He doesn't have the shoulders to carry the preasure in Boston.
He will then play with the "Small Balls". Good luck my friend, see you in the finales someday where we'll kick your ass.

[Celtic]

Man the frustrating thing I keep coming back to is that if the C's had pulled of a deal for Butler only losing Bradley and assets, the Celtics would actually be better than the Warriors are going to be. They'd have more balanced talent, depth and be in the East with a excellent coach.

Come on, man. Adding Horford and Butler to our team last year, minus Bradley, would not have made us a 73-win team. Butler plays for the Bulls, but he does not wear 23.

I guess I was unclear, I meant signing Horford, trading for Butler while only giving up Bradley and picks, THEN the subsequent signing of Durant (which would have become more likely) would've made us better.

[loco_91]

Great read. Danny is a thoughtful guy, I like the way he talks about these things. It's really too bad, but even without Durant, it's a successful offseason bringing in Horford, and the C's will be fun to watch next year.

[TheSundanceKid]

Man the frustrating thing I keep coming back to is that if the C's had pulled of a deal for Butler only losing Bradley and assets, the Celtics would actually be better than the Warriors are going to be. They'd have more balanced talent, depth and be in the East with a excellent coach.

Come on, man. Adding Horford and Butler to our team last year, minus Bradley, would not have made us a 73-win team. Butler plays for the Bulls, but he does not wear 23.

I guess I was unclear, I meant signing Horford, trading for Butler while only giving up Bradley and picks, THEN the subsequent signing of Durant (which would have become more likely) would've made us better.

In the article Ainge states pretty clearly that the trades available would not have swung Durant to us from GS. So you don't need to worry about missing out on Butler, KD wasn't coming anyway

[jpotter33]

Yeah, you can't fault Danny for this at all. It seems that by all accounts he was GS bound the entire time. Everyone just pegged his mentality wrong; he sought out and went to the one place where he wouldn't necessarily be "the man" and primarily responsible for things.

But obviously him and Horford were in touch, so he probably knew before us. I don't think trading for Butler or anyone else would've helped. Two separate instances of choking allowed Durant to get what he wanted - take a step down and ride the coat tails of his teammates while avoiding major criticism.

[trickybilly]

Did anyone else cringe badly when Tom Brady was chosen as the mascot?

It reminds me of that pathetic attempt to lure Dwight Howard with a cartoon.

[D Dub]

Scal made a good point about KD going to GSW. 

With a team that good -- he only has to play at like 60% night in and night out.   Over the long haul, that= less wear and tear and ultimately an extra 2 maybe 3 years in the league. 

That, salary wise, is likely north of $40M for KD.  Not to mention the stat padding that, in time, will pull him up the GOAT list. 

As an employee of an organization that 1- caps your salary and 2- locks you out of you don't like it --- Would you hesitate to screw them over?   It's the leagues problem, not the players.  Players should grab grab grab as much $$ as possible.   Politics and refs play so much into the playoffs, what does it matter?   Silver et al want Trotters vs Generals one way or the other...