and a boatload of cap space that will be almost useless in place that has NEVER attracted top FA's
Cap space can be useful in other ways, such as accepting toxic contracts in trades for the price of a likely lottery pick. You're more likely to get a good draft pick with a chance to get a star that way than by trading Pierce and Garnett.
Right! Rather than another 20 years wandering in the wilderness, I think the C's are about where they were in 2001/2002 or 2002/2003 again. Good enough to make the playoffs and *maybe* the Conference Finals and with huge luck the Finals, but trending down toward mediocre.
This year and even next year the C's can be good enough, with minor tweeks, to be competitive, good enough to have a *very* long shot at the championship. Yes, it's a shot, but a very, very, long shot. Danny, and the current ownership, came in at this point and I expect they know what needs to happen next. Twain has got to be traded. Eric Williams and Tony Battie have to go. It's going to make fans angry, it's going to hurt, but it's got to be done. Assets must be acquired, developed, and traded for upgrades, developed and traded again for upgrades and for five years the C's will bounce around the 8th seed, maybe more lottery than playoffs, but eventually, the assets will be the core, or be turned into the core and we get 2008 again.
I'm optimistic for 2018. And that's if everything goes well, almost every move pans out, and that's without having a 24 year old Paul Pierce already on the squad.