Do you think Danny Ainge will be on the hot seat?

[Evantime34]

Ainge has had this team in the playoffs ever since he brought Garnett here. It is not his fault that his players got old. He might be on the hot seat if they don't make the playoffs for several years after KG and Pierce retire.

[edwardjkasche]

Ainge has done nothing wrong.  He went bold in 2007-08 and brought a championship to town.  We had the best team in the NBA in 2008-09, only to see KG go down with a knee injury.  We went to the Finals in 2009-10.  We were ready to beat the Heat in 2010-11, only to have Wade tackle Rondo, dislocating his elbow in the process.  We had a 3-2 lead in the ECF of 2011-12.

This has been an unfortunate season of injuries and age, but Ainge has continually built a strong contending team in Boston.

It would be wrong to fault Ainge for not picking up certain players who happened to play well for other teams at one time or another this season - incl. Blatche, Evans, and Martin.  At the beginning of the season, we had a plethora of big men, so Blatche and Evans weren't a need.  It's not Ainge's fault that Darko moved home and Sully got injured.  And, when Rondo and Barbosa went down, guards became a priority (especially with Bradley just returning from two surgeries), not big men.  Every GM misses out on players.  There is no way to tell if someone like Martin would have played as well under Doc as he is under Woodson.  Knowing Doc, Martin may have racked up 30 DNP-CD.

Ainge will have a number of seasons to go bold once again.  He'll have time to gather draft picks and quality players to facilitate a trade like the ones in 2007 (Allen and KG).  Ainge and the Celtics owners know that superstars win championships, and Ainge will have time to find his next superstar.  If he strikes out on that guy, then maybe his job is in jeopardy, but he's nowhere near that point now.

[indeedproceed]

Here's a little tidbit from ESPN's rumor section:

The New York Knicks are aiming to put an end to the Boston Celtics' 2012-13 campaign Sunday by sweeping them out of the playoffs 4-0 in the first round. Unless the C's manage to buck history and come back from 0-3 in this series, talk soon will turn to how Danny Ainge will handle his roster this offseason. Step 1 will be determining what to do with Paul Pierce's contract.

"Pierce has a team option on his contract for 2013-14 at $15.3 million, with a $5 million buyout before June 30," noted the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn. "Meanwhile, Chris Wilcox’s minimum salary is the only guaranteed money that will come off the books next season, ensuring the Celtics will again be a luxury-tax team. Even jettisoning Pierce’s contract would offer no financial flexibility because they would still be over the salary cap.

"Unless the Celtics can find takers for players such as Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, and even Brandon Bass, they will be mostly the same club next season. Being over the salary cap, the Celtics will have their mini mid-level exception available, which is the contract that attracted Ray Allen to Miami."

Looking back, Ainge's all-in approach to adding the already aging Kevin Garnett and Allen to join Pierce for their lone championship run five years ago, and his failure to add high-end youth to the roster since then, has left his hands tied now. Barring some particularly creative maneuvering by Ainge this offseason, the C's are going to remain a long way from being title contenders for years to come.

[pearljammer10]

Here's a little tidbit from ESPN's rumor section:

The New York Knicks are aiming to put an end to the Boston Celtics' 2012-13 campaign Sunday by sweeping them out of the playoffs 4-0 in the first round. Unless the C's manage to buck history and come back from 0-3 in this series, talk soon will turn to how Danny Ainge will handle his roster this offseason. Step 1 will be determining what to do with Paul Pierce's contract.

"Pierce has a team option on his contract for 2013-14 at $15.3 million, with a $5 million buyout before June 30," noted the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn. "Meanwhile, Chris Wilcox’s minimum salary is the only guaranteed money that will come off the books next season, ensuring the Celtics will again be a luxury-tax team. Even jettisoning Pierce’s contract would offer no financial flexibility because they would still be over the salary cap.

"Unless the Celtics can find takers for players such as Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, and even Brandon Bass, they will be mostly the same club next season. Being over the salary cap, the Celtics will have their mini mid-level exception available, which is the contract that attracted Ray Allen to Miami."

Looking back, Ainge's all-in approach to adding the already aging Kevin Garnett and Allen to join Pierce for their lone championship run five years ago, and his failure to add high-end youth to the roster since then, has left his hands tied now. Barring some particularly creative maneuvering by Ainge this offseason, the C's are going to remain a long way from being title contenders for years to come.

Not the article I wanna see but none the less, Danny has been known to be pretty creative.

[cman88]

I think that ESPN article is wrong to say that Ainge has failed to add "high end youth" to the roster...Rondo, Sullinger, Bradley, Green

unfortunately he cant control their best player(rondo) and 2nd best big (sullinger) being injured..without Rondo there really was only a limit to what we could do in the playoffs

Rondo basically carried us last year through the playoffs.

the plan was for pierce/KG to become more complimentary pieces and Rondo/Green to handle much more of the scoring burden. now, with rondo injured too much of a scoring burden is being put on Pierce/Garnett

and they are just too old to carry the team. but if Green/Sullinger/Rondo can continue their projectory of talent I like our team alot better next year.

[LarBrd33]

I think that ESPN article is wrong to say that Ainge has failed to add "high end youth" to the roster...Rondo, Sullinger, Bradley, Green

unfortunately he cant control their best player(rondo) and 2nd best big (sullinger) being injured..without Rondo there really was only a limit to what we could do in the playoffs

Rondo basically carried us last year through the playoffs.

the plan was for pierce/KG to become more complimentary pieces and Rondo/Green to handle much more of the scoring burden. now, with rondo injured too much of a scoring burden is being put on Pierce/Garnett

and they are just too old to carry the team. but if Green/Sullinger/Rondo can continue their projectory of talent I like our team alot better next year.

Rondo and Green aren't "youth". 

The other two are aiight, but certainly not top prospects.

[Chief Macho]

I'd fire him this week when they lose.  He's been terrible since the title.

[cman88]

I think that ESPN article is wrong to say that Ainge has failed to add "high end youth" to the roster...Rondo, Sullinger, Bradley, Green

unfortunately he cant control their best player(rondo) and 2nd best big (sullinger) being injured..without Rondo there really was only a limit to what we could do in the playoffs

Rondo basically carried us last year through the playoffs.

the plan was for pierce/KG to become more complimentary pieces and Rondo/Green to handle much more of the scoring burden. now, with rondo injured too much of a scoring burden is being put on Pierce/Garnett

and they are just too old to carry the team. but if Green/Sullinger/Rondo can continue their projectory of talent I like our team alot better next year.

Rondo and Green aren't "youth". 

The other two are aiight, but certainly not top prospects.

26years old isnt youth?

[Chief Macho]

I think that ESPN article is wrong to say that Ainge has failed to add "high end youth" to the roster...Rondo, Sullinger, Bradley, Green

unfortunately he cant control their best player(rondo) and 2nd best big (sullinger) being injured..without Rondo there really was only a limit to what we could do in the playoffs

Rondo basically carried us last year through the playoffs.

the plan was for pierce/KG to become more complimentary pieces and Rondo/Green to handle much more of the scoring burden. now, with rondo injured too much of a scoring burden is being put on Pierce/Garnett

and they are just too old to carry the team. but if Green/Sullinger/Rondo can continue their projectory of talent I like our team alot better next year.

Rondo and Green aren't "youth". 

The other two are aiight, but certainly not top prospects.

26years old isnt youth?

Age isn't anything in the league.  It's all about games and minutes played.

[toine83]

Most of his decisions have been bad since 2007.Need to find a SG to start with Rondo and a C to replace Bass

[indeedproceed]

I think that ESPN article is wrong to say that Ainge has failed to add "high end youth" to the roster...Rondo, Sullinger, Bradley, Green

unfortunately he cant control their best player(rondo) and 2nd best big (sullinger) being injured..without Rondo there really was only a limit to what we could do in the playoffs

Rondo basically carried us last year through the playoffs.

the plan was for pierce/KG to become more complimentary pieces and Rondo/Green to handle much more of the scoring burden. now, with rondo injured too much of a scoring burden is being put on Pierce/Garnett

and they are just too old to carry the team. but if Green/Sullinger/Rondo can continue their projectory of talent I like our team alot better next year.

Rondo and Green aren't "youth". 

The other two are aiight, but certainly not top prospects.

26years old isnt youth?

Age isn't anything in the league.  It's all about games and minutes played.

Well, and amount of time spent out of the womb. A 4 year veteran who is 22 years out of the womb for instance is typically considered 'younger' than a 4 year veteran who is 26 years out of the womb, despite playing close to the same number of games.

[LooseCannon]

I think Doc Rivers get fired before Ainge does and Ainge would probably last as long as the post-Doc permanent head coach if the Celtics end up on downward trend with no obvious hope for the future.

[banty19]

What I think would merit Danny being fired is if Paul Pierce and KG retire and the Celtics get nothing for them. Maybe KG was unwilling to go but I think he might have if they really tried to convince him. Either way, if the C's missed out on assets like Eric Bledsoe/Deandre Jordan for a first round near-sweep Ainge might be the one to take the fall.

And it's also related to his track record since getting KG and Ray. It's admittedly hard to get players when you're drafting low but he's barely delivered anything. Off the top of my head I can think of these guys in 6 years: Jeff Green (looking like a big upgrade over Perk), Avery (great value for where he was picked), James Posey (had a great year with the team), and Eddie House (ditto).

But look at all the bad contracts he stuck us with last offseason. 2 more years of a washed up Jet? 3-4 years for a player that can't even get off the bench in the playoffs (Courtney Lee)? 3-4 years and decent money for a decent man-defender but undersized and streaky jump shooter (Brandon Bass)?

And how does this team not have a big? And how is this small-ball gimmick still happening? Small-ball has almost never worked for the Celtics or most other teams. It works for the Heat because they have the best player in the league.

Let's just hope KG and PP don't retire with the C's getting nothing. It could be another very slow rebuild.

[BigAlTheFuture]

We had no idea Terry and Lee were going to have a bad season like they did. Don't think Ainge would have known that either. At the time, I think most of us would agree that Terry and Lee combo would make us a better team.

[syfy9]

That isn't enough to cost him his job, in my opinion. However, he accomplished little or nothing bringing in Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Crawford and he wasted a first-round draft choice on Melo. He had his worst summer as Celtics GM.

The Celtics would be going fishing if Terry didn't play today.