Enjoying yourselves Anti-Tankers?

[Rakulp]

I don't think you can call this C's season anything but a major success across the board. 

1) They completely overhauled the roster during the season
 
2) Traded away 2 of their top 3 overall best players (I think Sully was and is a more talented player than Jeff Green),

3) Amassed a ton of draft picks and salary cap flexibility

4) Acquired possibly the best 6th man in the league who has a ridiculously cheap contract

5) Got tons of valuable reps/mins for their best young prospect (Smart)



All while getting significantly better as a team and nearly finishing with a .500 record, reaching the playoffs and competing with one of the best teams in the NBA and a 4-time MVP.

They are just as good from a talent and competitive standpoint as the team was 2 years ago.  The future looked very uncertain and possibly even bleak then.  It looks WAY BETTER NOW.  This team is legitimately one good/very good NBA player away from being one of the top seeds in the East next year, and they only have one player over 30 (whose $11 Mil contract is expiring next season, a wonderful trade chip)

I am very happy with everything that happened.  This team is in great shape with great leadership.  Next year is gonna be a lot of fun.

The opposite of what it would be if we had tanked.

A /bow and a TP...your words said everything I feel right now, only better than any I could have penned.

Winning is not the only positive that happens in life...sometimes, losing can teach you many more valuable lessons in the process.

It was a fun series...now, Danny is on the clock

Rak

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Tanking is no guarantee of long-term success. Where The Celtics are now is no guarantee of long-term success. What leads to long-term success is making wise decisions in the position you are in. In this one upcoming draft The Celtics will have a lesser pick than if they had tanked. They still have all the assets they had before, the gazillion draft picks, the upcoming cap space. They still have Brad Stevens. They have IT which they wouldn't have otherwise had.

The point being, a winning franchise isn't made in only one way. To hold steadfast to the promise of tanking, to the belief that there is only one way to get to the top is shortsighted.

Think of it like moneyball---if everyone is tanking (and many teams were this year), tanking becomes less valuable. The odds of The Celtics getting a top lottery position where slim even if trying to fail as The 76'rs, Knicks and Lakers all failed way worse than The C's even could have. Tanking guarantees nothing.

The key is what you do from where you are, not just getting to the one place and thinking it will solve everything.

[jonaslopes]

There are multiple paths to building a championship roster, because there are multiple paths to acquiring championship talent. Not just drafting high.

"Championship? Contending? For what? What if we get a twenty-something pick? Fire Ainge! We need a top 5 pick to pick a future star and then trade the star to tank and get another top 5 pick the year after".

[Chris22]

Was it worth it? Did the crew gain "valuable playoff experience!" Newsflash, nobody on this team will be here when we are back to a championship level so it won't matter. We could be crossing our fingers for a top 3 pick right now to help speed up the rebuild but nope. Sorry. Try again next time. At least we have the Brooklyn pick next year to rely on. Ainge is so bad at tanking maybe someone else can do it for him.

(Sorry in advance, this thread was just too easy NOT to make)

You lost our bet.
You owe me a tommy point.

What was the bet, I forget. I gave you one anyways

You bet me that the Celtics would only finish ahead of one team in their division.

[max215]

That was one example. Every draft has at least one or two franchise players. Last year was Parker and Wiggins, year before that was Nerlens Noel, Year before that was Anthony Davis, Damian Lilliard, and Andre Drummond. You cant win championships drafting Kelly Olynyks every year.It also doesnt matter if the actual player is valuable.

A top 3 pick is inherently very very valuable in the NBA. You can use it to trade for a Kevin Love.

Are you actually a fan of the Celtics, you know, the franchise that won a championship in 2008 after its GM traded for Kevin Garnett (a much more valuable player than Love) using a package centered on a player picked 1st 2nd 3rd 15th? Do you follow some other team, or do you just have amnesia? Yes, a higher pick is usually more valuable, in general. But it's quite possible to score a franchise player without using your own pick to draft at the top of the lottery. If your premise says otherwise, then everything else you argue on top of that premise is wrong. Proven wrong, by recent history, the recent history of this same franchise, led by the same GM.

Anyway, none of the players you just mentioned there have even sniffed a Finals yet. They are evidence of nothing so far. In fact, there are only six teams in the entire league that've won a championship since 1999. Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, Heat, Celtics, Mavs. Only stars on those teams drafted higher than ninth by the team they won a title with: Duncan, Wade. That's it. 16 years of championships, and only two players fit your paradigm of The Only Way to Win a Championship. Your paradigm fails.

There are multiple paths to building a championship roster, because there are multiple paths to acquiring championship talent. Not just drafting high.

That is an amazing statistic, TP!

[Scintan]

I'm enjoying myself




Do pro tankers EVER enjoy themselves?

I 'enjoyed' them missing the playoffs last year, and I would have preferred they miss them this year, as well, which puts me in the company of Danny Ainge, the team's GM.

[GratefulCs]

I'm enjoying myself





Do pro tankers EVER enjoy themselves?

Yes, when they trade Phil Pressey for Anthony Davis in a videogame.

TP

[cltc5]

Anyone that thight tanking was not the way to go this year was only kidding themselves.  Look I wanted the tank then rooted for them to get in the playoffs too.  Bottom line is we're not gonna be good next year either scenario.  We need established nba talent not rookies and not mid level guys.

[Waew]

we'll be in NBA purgatory for the next few years with a middling team that gets swept every year in the 1st round.

[jonaslopes]

I 'enjoyed' them missing the playoffs last year, and I would have preferred they miss them this year, as well

Erase the quotes. Don't be a hypocrite.

[GreenFaith1819]

we'll be in NBA purgatory for the next few years with a middling team that gets swept every year in the 1st round.

I doubt that.

Once the roster stabilized, we finished several games above 500 the latter part of the season - with IT4 missing some games, too.

If we don't make ANY changes we'll finish above 500 next season. Everyone will be a year older and wiser. That should be enough for a 6th seed or above.

[cltc5]

And also please stop beating your chest as if you're a bigger Celtic fan than pro-tankers because you didn't want the team to tank.  Thank u.

[jonaslopes]

And also please stop beating your chest as if you're a bigger Celtic fan than pro-tankers because you didn't want the team to tank.  Thank u.

Request denied. Sorry.

[Dino Pitino]

I'm enjoying myself




Do pro tankers EVER enjoy themselves?

I 'enjoyed' them missing the playoffs last year, and I would have preferred they miss them this year, as well, which puts me in the company of Danny Ainge, the team's GM.

And what does Ainge himself think of his performance as a GM and his ability to manufacture a championship team out of all the assets in his control now? I'm guessing he is very happy with himself and very confident about his ability. As he should be. Whatever preference he had for missing the playoffs over making them must have been a weak preference. Because he probably realizes there are different ways to build a titlewinner besides grooming players you yourself have drafted high in the lottery. Like the way he himself used 8 years ago. I doubt he's bothered much by picking a few places higher. I doubt he thinks it will significantly affect his chances to build a winner. I doubt he's not enjoying his situation.

Being a singleminded tank commander is NOT being in Ainge's company.

[Eja117]

we'll be in NBA purgatory for the next few years with a middling team that gets swept every year in the 1st round.

Has a team ever been in NBA purgatory with about $26million below the cap and two first rounders a year for the next 3 out 4 years as well as multiple 2nd rounders and trade exceptions? Has that ever happened?