Question: Let's say we open up roster and say everyone is for sale, make your best offer.
We have, arguably, 3 or 4 players who could be the 5th best player on a top team. A few who would be a great 6th man. And some others. What, exactly, do we think we're going to get for these players?
If there's anything we've learned from this last draft, its that quality > quantity. Nobody's going to trade us somebody who has the potential to be an A player for anyone we could sell them, and even teams that are willing to trade us a first-round draft pick for a guy like Thomas or Bradley who can come off the bench are unlikely to end up giving us a draft pick worth something. Heck, it sounds like Ainge was willing to give away the shop to move up seven spots in the draft and still couldn't pull it off with what we had to offer. Nobody's gonna say, "Okay, I'll trade you my guy with star potential for Turner, Olynik and another body." They don't want these guys any more than we do.
I was one of the proponents to get in the playoffs last year. I loved watching that team play in the second half of the season (versus the first half, when I couldn't give tickets away), but I dramatically overvalued what people were willing to pay for future (or even current) draft picks. From a pure outcome point of view, I'd be kidding myself if I said that still thought we were better off making the playoffs.
Mike