Danny Ainge: Price For James Harden Was Really High For Us

[RealGM Wiretap]

During an interview on Thursday following the completion of the James Harden trade, Danny Ainge revealed the Boston Celtics were involved in the trade talks but that the price wasn't to their liking. 

"Yeah, we had conversations regarding James, not recently but yeah, we did have conversations," Ainge said. "We had numerous talks, but the price really wasn't changing. The price was really high for us, and it was something we really didn't want to do ... I think unanimously, we decided it wasn't time for us and it wasn't the price."

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that the Celtics were the third team involved in trade discussions along with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics were similarly close to a deal for Jimmy Butler in 2017, but they were unwilling to include the No. 3 pick in that draft which became Jayson Tatum or the 2018 pick from Brooklyn included in the Kyrie Irving trade. 

Boston also discussed a similar trade that month with the Indiana Pacers for Paul George, but Tatum's second workout convinced them otherwise. 

Via 98.5 The Sports Hub

[RipCityKJ]

Lmfao! Yesterday there were a few of you in the Harden trade post that said can’t wait for Ainge to say he could have had him but....

[pagal]

yup - typical BS out of BoSton...you can always count on that trash marker to report stuff like after coming empty-handed.

[art_tatum]

Lol harden for brown and smart plus a couple of low firsts? U do it.

[Factorq]

Lol harden for brown and smart plus a couple of low firsts? U do it.

What does two years of Harden do for the Celtics? He’s not re-signing with them, and they wouldn’t win a championship if they’re giving up Smart and Brown. That’s a terrible trade for the Celtics.

[Knickstape7]

"i offered them smart and 2 late first rounders and they wouldnt accept it they wanted 3 late first rounders theyre delusional" lmaooo

[Hipster Doofus]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

[ayyayyron]

"I offered Aaron Nesmith and Daniel Theis for Harden and some pick swaps but they wanted more. Asking price too high, as always."

[oaktownwarriors87]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

He gets asked the questions by reporters. What's he supposed to say? They never talked about it?

It's not like he's coming out on twitter and blasting it out to everyone. He's just answering the question.

[luss54321]

Good decision. They probably wanted Jaylen Brown, who's 7 years younger than Harden and already averaging 26, 6, and 3. Plus he's not a toxic presence in the locker room and already plays better defense than Harden.

[arasu]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

Brown, Tatum, and Smart have improved every year. The C's still have a manageable salary cap, all of their own future picks, and a huge trade exception. It looks like they're still in great position to make moves...you know, the kind that win championships, not the kind that leaves them cap-strapped, pick-less, and out of options.

[circa70]

"The Rockets wanted Payton Pritchard which was a non-starter for us"

[circa70]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

Brown, Tatum, and Smart have improved every year. The C's still have a manageable salary cap, all of their own future picks, and a huge trade exception. It looks like they're still in great position to make moves...you know, the kind that win championships, not the kind that leaves them cap-strapped, pick-less, and out of options.

Not really. Mediocre team that will get 2nd round exits every year. I guarantee Tatum will leave when his contract is up and Ainge will lose him for nothing. It keeps happening for a reason

[31to6]

Lol harden for brown and smart plus a couple of low firsts? U do it.

hell no I don't. You can quote me, I wouldn't trade 24-year-old Jaylen Brown for him straight up. Many Celtics fans said they would, but plenty of us didn't want Fat Harden at any price. "Wouldn't trade Pritchard for him" become the joke.

[Tofubeque]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

He gets asked the questions by reporters. What's he supposed to say? They never talked about it?

It's not like he's coming out on twitter and blasting it out to everyone. He's just answering the question.

Do reporters not ask him any questions the rest of the season, only right after a big name gets traded?

Obviously Ainge reaches out to do the interviews. Plenty of GMs do something like this, but he's had his job longer than most of them so he's done it more times.

[nitocobola]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

Brown, Tatum, and Smart have improved every year. The C's still have a manageable salary cap, all of their own future picks, and a huge trade exception. It looks like they're still in great position to make moves...you know, the kind that win championships, not the kind that leaves them cap-strapped, pick-less, and out of options.

You are delusional as ****.

WARNING: Don't insult other RGMers like this. Keep your discourse civil and on-topic.
-Sammy

[madmaxmedia]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

He gets asked the questions by reporters. What's he supposed to say? They never talked about it?

It's not like he's coming out on twitter and blasting it out to everyone. He's just answering the question.

I don't know if they were really involved or not. But they are one of the few teams that are at least potentially sensible trade partners for these big stars. They are a good team with title aspirations, that also has enough good young assets and/or draft picks to come up with a trade package for a superstar (less draft picks now than a few years ago of course.)

[arasu]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

Brown, Tatum, and Smart have improved every year. The C's still have a manageable salary cap, all of their own future picks, and a huge trade exception. It looks like they're still in great position to make moves...you know, the kind that win championships, not the kind that leaves them cap-strapped, pick-less, and out of options.

Not really. Mediocre team that will get 2nd round exits every year. I guarantee Tatum will leave when his contract is up and Ainge will lose him for nothing. It keeps happening for a reason

Harden disappears in the playoffs every year. So throw away your future for a guy who still doesn't get you there? Nah...pass.

[arasu]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA every. single. time. a star gets traded reports come out or Ainge himself says the following day that "yeah, we were all in on it, we were super close, the price was too high, we didn't pull the trigger." every single time, like clockwork

bruh, enough already, you've lost out on like 5 stars in the last 2-3 years.

Brown, Tatum, and Smart have improved every year. The C's still have a manageable salary cap, all of their own future picks, and a huge trade exception. It looks like they're still in great position to make moves...you know, the kind that win championships, not the kind that leaves them cap-strapped, pick-less, and out of options.

You are delusional as ****.

Riiight. Delusion how? All of the rumored trades gets the C's no closer to a championship.

[hyberx]

Danny "The Asking Price Is Too Damn High" Ainge.

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