The reality is clear now

[jbpats]

Ainge is electing to build through the draft.

We could have landed Cousins for Pennies on the dollar, 2018 Brooklyn pick, Smart gets it done in comparison to what Nola gave up.. and he's a player that fixes every major hole we have right now.

There will be no fireworks. Our team is currently competitive enough to please fans.. IT is putting fans in the seats, we have an all star coach and are second in a depleted East. In theory we have the #1 pick the next two years, and a young foundation of Smart and  Jaylen to build off of.. no, IT will not get max money from Boston, it just doesn't fit the formula. Yes I know Horford got the max but he'll be off the books when it's time to pay Jaylen and extend Lonzo Ball.

Hopefully it pays off, the draft is a crap shoot but I think Ainge's end goal is to become the next Warriors, not the team that loses to them for the next 4 years..

As a season ticket holder the thought of right now always excites me. I think everyone knows nothing can be done to beat the warriors so why try? It's clear Ainge is building for for the future and not right now, and I think I'm okay with that.

Just gonna be tough to stomach if these draftees turn out to be busts and all we have then are what ifs.

[moiso]

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

[BitterJim]

Or he just doesn't like Cousins (as previous reports have stated)

[jbpats]

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

I seriously doubt he is going to give up twice the amount he would have had to in order to get Cousins just to land Butler.. Butler doesn't even play a position of need and while he is an upgrade over what we have it wouldn't be a significant one.

[moiso]

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

I seriously doubt he is going to give up twice the amount he would have had to in order to get Cousins just to land Butler.. Butler doesn't even play a position of need and while he is an upgrade over what we have it wouldn't be a significant one.

Actually I think it's a fact that he is working on getting Butler, according to tons of sources.  But, yeah obviously you don't want to overpay.  I guess that's why a deal hasn't been done.

[LGC88]

Or he just doesn't like Cousins (as previous reports have stated)

This, obviously.
Why it's so difficult for people to understand the simple fact that Cousins is a psycho and will be detrimental to our team.
Because if Cousins was a normal player, Danny would have traded for him, obviously.
People forgot that he literally gave the farm for an end of his prime KG.

[Surferdad]

Ainge is electing to build through the draft.

We could have landed Cousins for Pennies on the dollar, 2018 Brooklyn pick, Smart gets it done in comparison to what Nola gave up.. and he's a player that fixes every major hole we have right now.

There will be no fireworks. Our team is currently competitive enough to please fans.. IT is putting fans in the seats, we have an all star coach and are second in a depleted East. In theory we have the #1 pick the next two years, and a young foundation of Smart and  Jaylen to build off of.. Hopefully it pays off, the draft is a crap shoot but I think Ainge's end goal is to become the no, IT will not get max money from Boston, it just doesn't fit the formula. Yes I know Horford got the max but he'll be off the books when it's time to pay Jaylen and extend Lonzo Ball.

next Warriors, not the team that loses to them for the next 4 years..

As a season ticket holder the thought of right now always excites me. I think everyone knows nothing can be done to beat the warriors so why try? It's clear Ainge is building for for the future and not right now, and I think I'm okay with that.

Just gonna be tough to stomach if these draftees turn out to be busts and all we have then are what ifs.

So what you re saying is that the IT/Horford era is to keep fans amused and to sell tix while the real goal is building around the youth.  I'm okay with that.

[ChefEricT]

I don't think the reality is as clear as you think.  Danny might be happy with the group we have and continuing to build through the draft, OR maybe he's dead set on adding Butler or George, OR maybe he just thought a punk like Cousins would knock us down a few pegs, OR maybe Divac refused to trade with us because he didn't want to join the Nets, Mavs, and Suns on the list of teams that Danny hosed in trades in recent years.  My point is, we don't know anymore about our "plans" today than we did yesterday.  For everyone who thinks we missed the bus here because Cousins was obtained for pretty cheap, remember, 28 other teams also didn't try to outbid the Pelicans offer.  Let that sink in.  29 GMs (including Divac) maybe didn't want a locker room cancer on their team.

[jbpats]

I don't think the reality is as clear as you think.  Danny might be happy with the group we have and continuing to build through the draft, OR maybe he's dead set on adding Butler or George, OR maybe he just thought a punk like Cousins would knock us down a few pegs, OR maybe Divac refused to trade with us because he didn't want to join the Nets, Mavs, and Suns on the list of teams that Danny hosed in trades in recent years.  My point is, we don't know anymore about our "plans" today than we did yesterday.  For everyone who thinks we missed the bus here because Cousins was obtained for pretty cheap, remember, 28 other teams also didn't try to outbid the Pelicans offer.  Let that sink in.  29 GMs (including Divac) maybe didn't want a locker room cancer on their team.

I don't know, there comes a point when you need to roll the dice, and this was that time. I'm well aware Cousins has character issues but they could stem from a terrible team constantly making poor decisions to build around him. There have been plenty of "cancers" moved in the past that just needed a change of scenery to shut up and excel.

[Big333223]

Ainge is electing to build through the draft.

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

Or he just doesn't like Cousins (as previous reports have stated)

We all want to jump to conclusions but these are all reasonable explanations and are likely all true to varying degrees. There are lots of reports that Ainge is after Butler or George and may value them more. There have also been reports that members of the Celtics organization flat out don't like Cousins. And I'm sure everyone understands just how valuable this Brooklyn pick as, both as an asset and as a potential franchise player.

The trade opens up some interesting discussions about the Celtics organization's current mindset but I'm holding back on any big conclusions just yet.

[Moranis]

Ainge is electing to build through the draft.

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

Or he just doesn't like Cousins (as previous reports have stated)

We all want to jump to conclusions but these are all reasonable explanations and are likely all true to varying degrees. There are lots of reports that Ainge is after Butler or George and may value them more. There have also been reports that members of the Celtics organization flat out don't like Cousins. And I'm sure everyone understands just how valuable this Brooklyn pick as, both as an asset and as a potential franchise player.

The trade opens up some interesting discussions about the Celtics organization's current mindset but I'm holding back on any big conclusions just yet.

The thing is, if all it would have taken was Brown and the BKN 18 pick for Cousins, you have to make that trade and you can then still go acquire Butler for the 17 pick.  I get why you might not want to sell the farm to land Cousins (short term contract, potential attitude issues, etc.), but Brown and BKN 18 is not selling the farm, that is in fact an underpay for a guy that unquestionably puts Boston into the Cleveland tier of contender.  It is unacceptable and Ainge should be fired if he didn't at least make that offer to Sacto.

[More Banners]

I never thought reality as a Celts fan might ever include signing a max FA one year and then getting the #1 overall the next...

Or is the draft jinx still upon us?

[jbpats]

Ainge is electing to build through the draft.

I think the reality is that Ainge is trying to get Butler.

Or he just doesn't like Cousins (as previous reports have stated)

We all want to jump to conclusions but these are all reasonable explanations and are likely all true to varying degrees. There are lots of reports that Ainge is after Butler or George and may value them more. There have also been reports that members of the Celtics organization flat out don't like Cousins. And I'm sure everyone understands just how valuable this Brooklyn pick as, both as an asset and as a potential franchise player.

The trade opens up some interesting discussions about the Celtics organization's current mindset but I'm holding back on any big conclusions just yet.

The thing is, if all it would have taken was Brown and the BKN 18 pick for Cousins, you have to make that trade and you can then still go acquire Butler for the 17 pick.  I get why you might not want to sell the farm to land Cousins (short term contract, potential attitude issues, etc.), but Brown and BKN 18 is not selling the farm, that is in fact an underpay for a guy that unquestionably puts Boston into the Cleveland tier of contender.  It is unacceptable and Ainge should be fired if he didn't at least make that offer to Sacto.

That's my mindset for the OP, you gamble on Cousins knowing you won't have to give up the farm. The fact that he didn't leads me to believe he is electing to build through the draft.

You don't then turn around and give up double to get Butler or George, neither of those guys move the needle the way Cousins would have, not to mention we'd be offering even more quality players on the current roster to even make Chicago or Indiana consider a trade.

[Roy H.]

I'll say this: I don't think Danny feels an urgency to win now. Perhaps he thinks Golden State and Cleveland are unbeatable. I appreciate that, but it makes me wonder what the next step is with an aging Horford and a bunch of rotation players looking for big pay raises in the next couple of seasons.

If Danny wanted to maximize our chances at a title over the next three years (Horford's tenure + IT's prime), he should have gambled on adding the best, most versatile center in the NBA.

Realistically, we could have been looking at a team of:

Horford / Amir
Boogie / KO
Crowder / Casspi / Gerald
Bradley / Smart
Thomas  / Rozier

That assumes a deal like 2018 Nets pick, Brown, Zeller, Jerebko, Memphis pick

The craziest thing is we could have still offered a package of 2017 Nets pick + future picks + Amir + Bradley or Jae for Jimmy Butler.

Horford / KO
Boogie / Casspi
Jae / Gerald
Butler / Smart
Thomas / Rozier

[ChefEricT]

I don't think the reality is as clear as you think.  Danny might be happy with the group we have and continuing to build through the draft, OR maybe he's dead set on adding Butler or George, OR maybe he just thought a punk like Cousins would knock us down a few pegs, OR maybe Divac refused to trade with us because he didn't want to join the Nets, Mavs, and Suns on the list of teams that Danny hosed in trades in recent years.  My point is, we don't know anymore about our "plans" today than we did yesterday.  For everyone who thinks we missed the bus here because Cousins was obtained for pretty cheap, remember, 28 other teams also didn't try to outbid the Pelicans offer.  Let that sink in.  29 GMs (including Divac) maybe didn't want a locker room cancer on their team.

I don't know, there comes a point when you need to roll the dice, and this was that time. I'm well aware Cousins has character issues but they could stem from a terrible team constantly making poor decisions to build around him. There have been plenty of "cancers" moved in the past that just needed a change of scenery to shut up and excel.

I agree that there comes a time to "roll the dice" or take a risk.  Going all in for Butler or George is taking a risk.  Holding on to draft picks is taking a risk.  Basically every direction is a risk, but it has to be a calculated risk, an educated guess.  Apparently Danny and company didn't think Cousins was a good risk to take.  Like I said, most of the league seemed to agree with him.  I also agreed with him, but I have a hard time making a decision on what our next move should be.  Good thing it's not up to me.