The Official Off-Season Thread, part I of many

[Kenhov]

I like what I'm hearing from Ainge.

[Afam]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

[Afam]

The Celtics Ownership, and GM feel no pressure from the fans to improve the team . None . It's very disappointing .

[Froob]

The Celtics Ownership, and GM feel no pressure from the fans to improve the team . None . It's very disappointing .

Why assume that? I love that our management is patient and not short sighted. You don't usually build a dynasty over night. Warriors was a long process of about five to six years .

[ConstableGeneva]

The Celtics Ownership, and GM feel no pressure from the fans to improve the team . None . It's very disappointing .

Why assume that? I love that our management is patient and not short sighted. You don't usually build a dynasty over night. Warriors was a long process of about five to six years .

Based on the article and previous comments from Wyc, ownership actually wants to become a contender like yesterday if possible. It's Ainge who is not being swayed by the pressure to make shortsighted get-rich-quick schemes that got the Brooklyn Nets in the deep mess they're in.

[Celts17Pride]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

No improvement at all from 25 wins to 48 wins? People just don't understand that rebuilds don't take 2-3 years. Celtics are on a 5 year plan and things are going great.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

I like what I'm hearing from Ainge.

Same

[Andrew McCeltic]

The Celtics Ownership, and GM feel no pressure from the fans to improve the team . None . It's very disappointing .

Boston has smart fans. The ones who only attend games when the team's really good don't care enough to complain about the team, they just don't attend games.

Ainge has a lot of trust from the Boston area- it was really low in summer 2007 and he pulled two rabbits out of his hat.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

Yeah, he has that vibe at times. I actually think the fact he doesn't know exactly what he's doing is what makes him a good GM. It's not just about what sticks, it's about what opportunities emerge. You don't know which players become available in trades, you don't know what free agents will decide, you don't know who wins the lottery or who's in the draft.

[CelticsPride18]

I think the worst thing that happened to Boston was Kevin Love tour in Boston after 1 year of rebuilding people thought we could turn into a contender overnight.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

The Celtics Ownership, and GM feel no pressure from the fans to improve the team . None . It's very disappointing .

Why assume that? I love that our management is patient and not short sighted. You don't usually build a dynasty over night. Warriors was a long process of about five to six years .

Based on the article and previous comments from Wyc, ownership actually wants to become a contender like yesterday if possible. It's Ainge who is not being swayed by the pressure to make shortsighted get-rich-quick schemes that got the Brooklyn Nets in the deep mess they're in.

With this article I can rest easy now that they're not going to sign Dwight Howard and Al Horford who are both rapidly declining in production and will want the world in contract money. Whoever signs those two are heading strait for playoff-purgatory.

I want Danny making free agent signings or trading for guys that are 25-27 and look like they've got another 7 years of basketball greatness in them or we stick with the youth movement. I'm all for the youth movement as long as we actually give guys some NBA minutes and knock off the Bulshyte D-league stuff.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

Yeah, he has that vibe at times. I actually think the fact he doesn't know exactly what he's doing is what makes him a good GM. It's not just about what sticks, it's about what opportunities emerge. You don't know which players become available in trades, you don't know what free agents will decide, you don't know who wins the lottery or who's in the draft.

Your talking about flexibility and timing, the latter of which is a mysterious factor that has resulted in many teams good and bad fortunes in the past, present and future. Lots of stars have to line up just right for success to be attained. It's almost a celestial affair. I'll never forget the night the sox won the World Series against St. Louis in 2004, I was living on Mission Hill off of Huntington ave at the time. Game 4, at St Luis, 7th inning, helicoptors out, people started walking out of their apartments to rush Fenway Park to celebrate and, I kid not, there was a Lunar Eclipse over Boston. Talk about the stars Literally lining up.

[Smog]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

You know why the Lakers suck? Because their young players were handed minutes before they earned them.

If Ainge was fixated on a get-rich-quick scheme he'd have hired a placeholder coach and force-fed minutes to undeserving rookies so they could put up hollow numbers and be traded. Playing young guys when they actually earn the minutes is how you build around young players. It takes time. Look at Avery Bradley. He's an excellent player now and he earned his way there. Sullinger earned minutes on a winning team. Smart earned minutes on a winning team. These guys won't have to be rebuilt mentally at age 26 because they got on the court the right way.

Seriously, what kind of message does it send both to rookies and veterans when the less-prepared, less effective player wins minutes? It makes everyone miserable. Do you want a dysfunctional locker room?

[ConstableGeneva]

I think the worst thing that happened to Boston was Kevin Love tour in Boston after 1 year of rebuilding people thought we could turn into a contender overnight.

My life as a Celtics fan after every offseason and trade deadline:

[Andrew McCeltic]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

Yeah, he has that vibe at times. I actually think the fact he doesn't know exactly what he's doing is what makes him a good GM. It's not just about what sticks, it's about what opportunities emerge. You don't know which players become available in trades, you don't know what free agents will decide, you don't know who wins the lottery or who's in the draft.

Your talking about flexibility and timing, the latter of which is a mysterious factor that has resulted in many teams good and bad fortunes in the past, present and future. Lots of stars have to line up just right for success to be attained. It's almost a celestial affair. I'll never forget the night the sox won the World Series against St. Louis in 2004, I was living on Mission Hill off of Huntington ave at the time. Game 4, at St Luis, 7th inning, helicoptors out, people started walking out of their apartments to rush Fenway Park to celebrate and, I kid not, there was a Lunar Eclipse over Boston. Talk about the stars Literally lining up.

Yup. The Trail Blazers a decade ago had the best luck in ages, they had Oden, Aldridge, and Roy. If those guys had all stayed healthy, that's a big 3 for the ages (Oden's defensive stats were other-worldly, Aldridge was the perfect complement, Roy was a star).

And the Timberwolves were mismanaged for years, were facing the prospect of trading Kevin Love for Klay Thompson, if they were lucky, or for Sullinger/6/crap. Instead it became Wiggins, then Towns.

The Cavs- the odds of them winning the lottery that many years (3 out of 4!) are astronomically small. If they hadn't taken Waiters 4th in 2012 and Bennett 1st in 2013, they'd be even better.

The Spurs have been the best managed team of the last 20 years, Red Auerbach level, where Boston should be. And if they didn't have an Admiral injury and lotto luck, Tim Duncan goes to Boston or New Jersey. And for all that, a once in a quarter century player (perfect player, perfect citizen, aged as well as anyone could want) and perfect management, they have "only" 5 championships over 18 seasons.

Even Boston's best 80's teams could've won more if they'd been healthy. We could've won 3 in a row if Garnett and Perk had been healthy. I think it's all those vagaries of fortune, and the tantalizing possibility that individual willpower and ability can transcend them, that make following sports so compelling.

[Andrew McCeltic]

I don't think Danny Ainge knows exactly what he is doing . He is just making it up as he goes and sees what sticks . If he truly wanted to bring in young players and go the youth route , then he would have gone the tanking route. For example , players like Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey should have played over established players ,but that didn't happen , so why complain now . Make some big moves or step aside . I'm Tired of every single season we are going to improve the Celtics , and nothing happens . No one in the NBA gets to be the General Manager for life, and neither should he .

Yeah, he has that vibe at times. I actually think the fact he doesn't know exactly what he's doing is what makes him a good GM. It's not just about what sticks, it's about what opportunities emerge. You don't know which players become available in trades, you don't know what free agents will decide, you don't know who wins the lottery or who's in the draft.

Your talking about flexibility and timing, the latter of which is a mysterious factor that has resulted in many teams good and bad fortunes in the past, present and future. Lots of stars have to line up just right for success to be attained. It's almost a celestial affair. I'll never forget the night the sox won the World Series against St. Louis in 2004, I was living on Mission Hill off of Huntington ave at the time. Game 4, at St Luis, 7th inning, helicoptors out, people started walking out of their apartments to rush Fenway Park to celebrate and, I kid not, there was a Lunar Eclipse over Boston. Talk about the stars Literally lining up.

I was living in Brookline.. Went to the parade, too. Once in a lifetime stuff. And it wasn't beating the Cardinals, that was easy. It was coming back from 3 down against the Yankees.

[Banks2Pierce]

“I expect big things this summer, but there’s a chance we go the direction where we take these picks and bring in some young players,” Ainge cautioned. “There are some good, young players who may not be as good as some veterans on our team, and may takes some minutes away and our team record may not be good, but we think in the long run would be better for the development of our team.

This potential timeline is fascinating to me. Would think it means that rooks(and other youngins) would take some of AB and IT's minutes, whether that would mean lowering their minutes or dealing them.

It's a pretty wild landscape out there that is make or break between June 20th and July 10th. The only teams in the East that I'd feel comfortable won't have massive turnover are Detroit and Cleveland. I trust our front office in that type of environment.

[Fencer reregistered]

You have to say "BPA" to keep up the trade value of your players and pick.

Phoenix has a history, funny enough, of cycling through multiple point guards at the same time. When Ainge coached them, they had Kevin Johnson all season, Steve Nash as a bench prospect, and first Sam Cassell, then Jason Kidd.. And it worked with Hornacek's team for a year, before adding IT to Dragic/Bledsoe made everyone miserable.

It can make sense, and your bench unit will play better if it has a starting-caliber point guard, but the IT/Dragic debacle shows how risky it is.

I thought there was an even earlier example, too, but I may have been mixing it up with Mark Price and Kevin Johnson being together in Cleveland before Johnson was traded to the Suns.

[ConstableGeneva]

Celtics Beat podcast episode w/ guest Jeff Goodman: http://clnsradio.com/celtics-beat/item/13799-celtics-beat-w-jeff-goodman-5-22-16

• Goodman likes Hield for Cs if they keep 3.
• JG sees skill at wing position as area of need, Ingram would've been perfect.
• Doesn't see Ainge taking Bender at 3.
• Dunn, Hield, Murray, Bender, and Brown are the guys Danny should look into for 3rd pick.
• Some high upside bigs like Chriss and Davis that might not be able to contribute right away.
• Suggesting Smart for Noel swap (or some other big man) then draft Dunn with 3rd pick. Will depend on value of Smart in market.
• Goodman thinks 3rd pick on its own will fetch you a 4th starter from another team on trade market.
• Doesn't think Bulls are trading Butler. It would take all 3 1st rounders and a key rotation guy for Bulls to consider.
• Nets 2017 pick shouldn't be traded. 2017 draft is loaded. Mentions Giles, Jackson, and Tatum.
• Lists Valentine, Ellenson, Sabonis, Chriss, Jones, and a bunch of foreign guys as potential picks mid-1st round.
• Not sold on Harrison Barnes as someone Cs should go after given the salary he'll command and uncertainty whether he can thrive as the 1st or 2nd option.
• On a contender, thinks Bradley and IT would be awesome as 1st two guards off bench. (Ouch.) Thinks there are at least 10 PGs better than IT.
• Sees Kris Dunn as an upgrade to Marcus Smart.
• Views teams with the best chance of signing an elite FA as the teams with brightest future. Doesn't consider Boston as one of those teams. Still loves Celtics future cos of Stevens, good young players, and Nets picks.

[Banks2Pierce]

Murphy's article in the Herald was weird. I have no idea if stuff like maxing Harrison Barnes and 16 for Nerlens Noel was just pure speculation on his part or what.