Danny's First Call at 12:01 AM

[max215]

So who do you think it'll be? Explain below if you chose other or if you just feel like sharing your thoughts.

Side note: I included Jae because you've just got to love him (even though the start of FA means nothing for our negotiations with Jae).

[BudweiserCeltic]

None of the above. You guys might recall that our first call last Summer was Isaiah Thomas, and it left everyone scratching their heads?

I'm expecting something like that. Who knew that 7 months later we would be trading for him.

[GreenPride17]

None of the above. You guys might recall that our first call last Summer was Isaiah Thomas, and it left everyone scratching their heads?

I'm expecting something like that. Who knew that 7 months later we would be trading for him.

Not saying he'll call a "Star" or second tier free agent first, but the reason why he called Isaiah Thomas first was because we didn't have the cap to sign a big name free agent

[LarBrd33]

Biyombo.

Nah... probably Kevin Love.

[BudweiserCeltic]

None of the above. You guys might recall that our first call last Summer was Isaiah Thomas, and it left everyone scratching their heads?

I'm expecting something like that. Who knew that 7 months later we would be trading for him.

Not saying he'll call a "Star" or second tier free agent first, but the reason why he called Isaiah Thomas first was because we didn't have the cap to sign a big name free agent

He didn't have the cap space to sign Thomas either. So it was a curious call.

[LarBrd33]

how about this bizarre throwback article from 2003 when Ainge first took over the job.

Throughout Danny Ainge?s basketball career, he has taken some long shots. One he took last week may have missed, but it was thrilling nonetheless. Steve Bulpett?s revelation in Saturday?s Boston Herald that Danny Ainge made a hard push to sign Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone must have come as a shock to many people in the world of basketball, as well as Celtic fans. What was Ainge doing in Salt Lake at 10:01 MST (a minute after midnight in New York, the deadline of the free agent signing period) at the door of Malone, a marquee free-agent being courted by the league?s elite? The Celtics have about the same chance of signing Malone as the Mohegan Sun, right?

Not exactly.

According to Bulpett, Ainge met with the Mailman that night, and Ainge?s sales pitch was intriguing enough to earn him an audience with Malone and agent Dwight Manley in Los Angeles later in the week. While Ainge ultimately was rebuffed, saying that Malone wanted to stay in the West, he added that Malone ?was receptive to the possibility of playing for the Boston Celtics.?

That news in and of itself is positive for Celtic Nation. With a new, basketball friendly ownership and a new man at the helm that speaks the players? language. Perhaps Boston is becoming a more attractive destination. The fact that Malone even invited Ainge for a second chat speaks volumes. And while it was initially thought that the Celtics would not be players in the free agent market, it is not a stretch of the imagination to think Ainge would go after another high-profile player such as PJ Brown or Juwan Howard. If the Celtics plan to use the mid-level exception, it would have to be on this caliber of player, because they will not overpay anyone with three max players. The Malone courtship signals to all that Boston will indeed use the exception if the right player is interested.

The mere fact that when Karl Malone?s door opened at the stroke of midnight and the first face he saw was Danny Ainge is a fascinating prospect for Celtics fans. It means that Boston might not be out of the free agent market after all, and it means there is a new sheriff in town. If Danny Ainge is anything, he is aggressive. And bold. Throw in a little salesmanship, and the Celts just might have a winner someday.

That was Malone's last season, btw.  He was 39 years old and coming off a season averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assissts, and 1.7 steals.   Malone ended up on that doomed Laker team and avearged 13 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals on the powerhouse with Shaq, Kobe and Gary Payton... the one that inevitably lost to the Pistons in the finals partially due to Malone being injured... and partially due to Kobe never fully being 100% that year (it was his trial year).   Crazy to think that Danny wanted to try to lure 40 year old Malone to Boston...  partially because we didn't really have cap space, though.  It would have been a mid level exception or something.   

Here's hoping Ainge is just as ambitious this summer (the first time in history this team has actually had money to spend on a max contract), but sets our sights on someone a bit younger than 40 year old Mailman. 

[tarheelsxxiii]

Speedy Claxton

[krumeto]

I cannot decide between Monroe and Harris and voted Harris at the end.

My logic is that there are no scoring wings on the market and Harris is a bigger priority by a hair.

[SparzWizard]

Jae Crowder so he can get his deal done.

[Otsje P]

I voted "other".

I know it's a long shot, but i think Danny needs to let Marc Gasol know that he is the guy he would love the most. I do not know if this is what Danny wants the most, but i do know that Gasol is the player i would love to build around.

A mobile, good shooting, great passing and good defending center. A legitimate star, who already expressed that Boston is one of his favorite NBA teams. He is not the greatest rebounder, but Sully would make up for that.

Man, i would have the greatest summer of all time, if Gasol joined the Celtics.

I guess i'm a bit of a dreamer, right?

[YoungOne87]

lebron, because he has to do it...even if there is a zero percent chance

[kheldar52077]

Marc Gasol and Kawhi Leonard. 

[Cman]

None of the above. You guys might recall that our first call last Summer was Isaiah Thomas, and it left everyone scratching their heads?

I'm expecting something like that. Who knew that 7 months later we would be trading for him.

Great point.
In that case I'm guessing first call is to Kevin Love.

[moiso]

Speedy Claxton

[Who]

With stars like Monroe, it is usually pre-arranged by the agent to talk to the team at 12.01 AM that the player wants to speak to first. So it depends more on the player than on Ainge.

If Ainge cannot get that first call -- as I imagine he could not last year which is why he called Isaiah Thomas instead -- then he'll move on down his list to the next quasi-star and so on down until he finds someone who will take that call. Or else he'll call a role player like Isaiah Thomas again (and make a strong impression with the role player while doing so).