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Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics have been busy the last few years. They traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets a few years ago in exchange for a boatload of draft picks. They replaced head coach Doc Rivers and with ex-Butler head coach, Brad Stevens. In 2014 they sent their last remaining all-star, Rajon Rondo, to the Dallas Mavericks for a package that included Jae Crowder, and sent Marcus Thornton to Phoenix in exchange for point guard Isaiah Thomas. To cement their starting line-up of the future, they re-signed Avery Bradley for $32 million over 4 years, and last offseason they signed veteran center Al Horford to a four-year $113 million deal.
The Celtics, however, have not only built their current roster through free agency and trades, they’ve also added several players through the draft. Since 2014 they’ve drafted: Marcus Smart (2014), James Young (2014) Terry Rozier (2015), Jordan Mickey (2015), Demetrius Jackson (2016), and with the third overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft, Jaylen Brown.
There’s not a single member of the 2008 championship Boston Celtics still in Boston.
After missing the 2014 NBA postseason, the Celtics have clinched playoff berths in each of the past two seasons. In 2015 they locked up the seventh seed with a 40-42 record and in 2016 improved to 48-34, good enough to finish fifth in the East. Unfortunately the Celtics’ were eliminated in the first round both times by the Cavaliers and Hawks, respectively.
This little stroll down memory lane is to remind everyone that the Boston Celtics are still in rebuild mode. With all the recent success, and rapid improvement; somehow we forgot where this team was three seasons ago.
Danny Ainge has the vast majority of us fooled.
The Celtics have been linked to almost every major trade rumor for this reason: the Celtics aren’t done! DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and Klay Thompson are just a few names, but anytime a trade rumor pops up you can almost guarantee the Celtics are going to show interest.
Now for the second part of this CenterCourt edition: Which course of action is Boston likely to take - trade for a star or wait until free agency?
My guess would be that they wait until free agency.
Danny Ainge will be on the phone throughout the season dangling draft picks along with Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. However, I simply don’t feel any of these marquee players will be moved by the deadline. Maybe the Sacramento Kings implode and Cousins demands out. Perhaps the LA Clippers panic that Blake Griffin will walk in the offseason, so they make him available. Outside of those two I don’t see the Celtics pursuing any star.
Free agency is a whole other story.
If you read the last CenterCourt article, I spoke on the possible dismantling of the Los Angeles Clippers. This involved Paul and Griffin opting-out and walking. Griffin would demand the max, something the Celtics can afford and he’d be a consistent scoring option and would provide some added flare and rebounding to the already gritty young Celtics.
Another potential player, whose name hasn’t been in the conversation much, is Utah Jazz forward, Gordon Hayward. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and according to a report released earlier this month, “title contention” will be a big part of where he signs next.
Furthermore, ex-Butler and current Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has been quite clear that he loves the idea of coaching his former college star in the NBA.
Hayward again would be another solid scoring option, but this wouldn’t address the nagging issues that currently have the Celtics ranked 25th in rebounding. With that being said, signing a player like Hayward would give the team the option of trading Jae Crowder. This would then open the door for them to address the rebounding issue.
Nonetheless this rebuild is far from over, and under Danny Ainge, who knows what kind of deal they might pull off. Boston is slowly working their way back into contention, and if you’re a Celtics fan, you should be very excited.