Sometimes you have to take a half step backward in the very short term to take 2 steps forward in the long term.
I completely understand this concept. I've argued in favor of moves along those lines many times.
However, signing Al Horford to a max deal at age 30 is inconsistent with this type of move. You don't sign Horford and then trade away the only other star on the team a few months later in the name of servicing the long term outlook.
In any case, the Celts don't really need to be that concerned with the long term outlook right now. The Nets trade has guaranteed the team has assets in the pipeline. Yes, you could add to those assets in theory by looking to trade somebody like IT, but the team already has too many prospects to develop and a surplus of picks.
The big question for the team, and DA, right now is -- Can they add another big piece without sacrificing any of their current primary guys?
You could trade IT. I don't think you could get a player like Jokic for him, but you could probably get some significant value.
If you're gonna do that, though, I think you'd also have to look at trading Horford, because the team won't contend during his contract if they're trading away Isaiah. You might as well look to trade AB in that case, too, because his deal will be up in a couple years and he will want a big contract.
So, then, I suppose the real question here is:
Should the team give up on its current core and go all-out youth movement, with an eye toward the development of Jaylen Brown and the two Nets picks in the pipeline, rather than go for broke trying to add the final piece to this current group?Personally, my answer is no. Not yet, at least. If Ainge can't make anything happen at the deadline this year, or next summer, then this will be a discussion. At that point, IT and Bradley will have one year left, Horford will be 31, and the younger guys are going to need to start getting paid, beginning with Olynyk.
Even in that scenario, I think it will probably make the most sense to hold onto IT, Crowder, and Horford, make tough decision about the other guys (e.g. KO, AB, Smart, etc), and hope that the younger players develop in a way that dovetails nicely with the inevitable decline of those aforementioned core guys.
IT, Crowder, Horford should be good for 45-55 wins for the next 3-4 seasons after this one. While that's not the contending powerhouse we want, it's still possible the Celts could make that leap if something breaks right for them. And if it doesn't, you're still talking about a team that is balanced and well-coached and that plays an attractive style of basketball.
When this rebuild started a couple years ago, I was genuinely worried the Celts would enter a long fallow period like they experienced in the 90s, or even worse, an extended period of turmoil and constant roster turnover a la the Wizards, T-Wolves, or Kings.
I'm very relieved that didn't happen. Instead, Ainge strung together smart moves that worked out and in less than a couple years we had a team with an identifiable core that should compete to win playoff series for the near future. And we don't even have to sacrifice the allure of high draft picks, at least not until 2019!
Let's enjoy that, I say.
