Well now I wish we had done something at the deadline .
ya, but you can't bank on injuries
I'm still happy we didn't trade the big assets
Its not about banking on injuries. It's about doing everything you can possibly do to try and be as competitive as you possibly can, and going in with a winners attitude rather then being complacent and overvaluing your assets.
Nobody goes from a bottom 5 lottery team to a championship contender overnight. It takes multiple phases of rebuilding.
First you start by trying you're best to sell high on the assets you have, to trade short term assets for long term assets and flexibility - you aim becomes development, not winning and Ainge did that as well as I've ever seen any gm do.
Then you reach the point where you start being really competitive, and at this point you stay building the team with the aim is winning games. Ainge apparently missed this school and somehow got his brain frozen in rebuild mode.
You dont get anywhere by sitting idle. Lebron learnt that when The Heat got beat in the finals by an old Spurs team behind young Kawhi Leonard's mvp caliber play. The Warriors learnt it last season when they shocked the world by losibg to the Cavs, so they added Durant. Thats why Lebron is on a team with the highest payroll and is still whining about them not having enough. He knows they you can't stand still id your want to be competitive.
Boston could have added Demarcus Cousins, and right now we'd have been seen as having a serious shot at a championship. They could have added Ibaka while giving up no assets of significant value, and even that would have taken us one significant step closer to being able to compete with the Cavs and maybe make the finals.
Being competitive is beneficial. Danny doesn't want to sacrifice assets and cap flexibility, but what good is cap flexibility if no players want to sign with you as their first choice?
If we made the East finals last year, and pushed the Cavs to 6 games, then maybe Durant would have signed here based on the thought that maybe adding him is all this team needs to contend for a title.
But we didnt. We finished in a tiebreaker for the 3rd seed with 4 other teams which spells playoff mediocrity, and then we got eliminated in the first round by a Hawks team that was arguably no better then we were. That would have been enough to tell Durant we were more then one start player from a title. More then 2 even, because adding Horford still want enough to being him here.
So now Boston goes into the trade deadline with more assets then any other GM, every team who is considering dealing their key players are calling him, and he is not interested in doing anything to importune the team of there is even the slightest hint of risk involved. He wants somebody to trade him a star for scraps. So no deal gets done.
Now Toronto adds Ibaka, which improves their team dramatically. They'll probably finish above us by the time the playoffs come around, and i am very confident that if we play then in the playoffs we will lose.
The wizards are creeping up on us, and are a legit threat. They're very capable of beating Ius in a 7 game series.
Now let's say finish 3Rd, wizards finish 4Th, and the Wizards eliminate us in the first round. Now every few agent will be thinking about the fact that we've been knocked out of the first round 3 years in a row, and that were more then 1 guy away from being a championship contender. Unless they are 100% fixated on Boston, that's likely enough to convince them to sign elsewhere.
Now let's say it pick at #3 and we miss out on the key prospects. Suddenly we start next season having not budged freon where we were in a year where we got eliminated in the first round.
But if Aibge made a move - even just a modest one. Say, the ibaka trade for a pick and Rozier. Let's say that's smith for us to finish with the 2nd seed, beat the wizards and raptors, make the ECF, win 1 or 2 games against Cleveland. That could be all out takes to convince a Hayward or Griffin to sign with Boston, knowing they could put us over the top.
Now let's say ibaka wants to much and we don't resign him. Who cares? Our sacrifice of Rozier and a pick just ended up the difference between us being a key free agent who improves the team, or getting nobody.
And we will get to draft a top 4 guy anyway. But not that prospect has less pressure on him to have to make a huge impact right away.
This is why Ainge frustrates the hell out of me.