Danny Ainge

I am grateful to Danny Ainge for all of his years with the Boston Celtics both as a player and as the President of Basketball Operations. If you don't think he was successful at both - you weren't paying attention.

Since 2001 only 9 NBA franchises have won an NBA championship and made multiple finals. The Boston Celtics are one of those franchises because of Danny Ainge. The Celtics also made 6 Eastern Conference Finals and 15 playoffs total in Ainge's 18-years at the helm. That's success at least 20 other NBA franchises would happily have traded for.

Before Ainge took over, Boston had not won 50 games in a season in over a decade. They averaged at least one 50-win season every three years under Ainge. Again - how does your home team franchise compare?

Ainge showed balls of steel taking first Jaylen Brown with the 3rd overall pick and then trading down to pick Jason Tatum 3rd. People bagging on Ainge today for picking someone like Romeo Langford are the same ones who conveniently forget that the pick was the bonus pick for trading with the 76ers to move down from 1st to 3rd in the first place.

Taking Terry Rozier with the 16th pick in the 2015 draft is something Ainge also doesn't get enough credit for. That was another pick none of the "experts" liked at the time. People rip Ainge for taking Kelly Olynyk with the 13th pick of the 2013th draft when Giannis went 2 picks later to the Bucks. But nobody knew what Giannis was back then. Fact is of the first 7 players taken in that draft Olynyk has scored more points than all but one of the players (Victor Oladipo), has more career rebounds than all but one (Alex Len), and has more assists than all but one player (Oladipo). Olynyk is exactly the type of production you hope to get with a pick in the teens.  

Anyway - thanks Danny. Enjoy the golf course. You've earned it!

State of the Celtics

There are some in Boston upset that Danny Ainge wasn't more active during the recent NBA Trade Deadline. I'm not one of those people. I think the Celtics stand much improved today. 

The Celtics basically traded Daniel Theis, Jeff Teague, Javonte Green and two 2nd round draft picks for Evan Fournier and Mo Wagner. Here's how I see these transactions.

First let's address the elephant in the room - Celtics fans were getting pretty sick of Theis being a league wide punching bag. The lack of calls he'd get and the ticky-tack shit he'd get whistled for is legendary. And Celtics fans couldn't expect Theis to be the guy to dish out a hard foul when necessary. He'd halfheartedly try something and look apologetic the whole time. You need a  guy like Aron Baynes who could hack an opposing player then stand there looking them in the eye and saying "What?" As in "what are you going to do about it?" Daniel Theis was never that player. Boston loses a bit on pick and roll offense giving Theis' minutes to Robert Williams but that's more than made up defensively. Mo Wagner should also be able to provide some toughness and additional fouls off the bench.

Jeff Teague was a major disappointment. And he's already been waived by Orando! Celtics fans rejoice that Teague's minutes will now be going the the much more deserving Payton Pritchard. That's an upgrade just by doing that. 

Finally the big upgrade is Evan Fournier being added to the mix. Boston badly needed another wing who could create his own offense. He is a HUGE upgrade over Semi Ojeleye. The team is greatly improved by these moves.

Did they get Aaron Gordon?  Were they able to get the Raptors to trade Kyle Lowry? No - but they also didn't have to give up Marcus Smart either. Will they be able to add another piece via the buyout market? Maybe. But I like the moves they've made.

And all it cost was two 2nd round picks.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Serious question - can the autopen be used for all Presidential signings or do some things require both an original signature and witnesses? It is truly sad that its come to this... Really think Danny Ainge should purposefully leak that he inquired with the 76ers about the availability of Joel Embid at the trade deadline just to mess with Philly fans...  He's got a good point... Route 15 in Vermont is officially The Grand Army of the Republic Highway. I believe local history classes teach that's the route Abraham Lincoln used to lead his Union Army to Gettysburg... Checking the Internet to see if Dr. Larry Nasser was killed in prison. - Disappointed with the result of the search... 

Linky Linkys

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Classy move by Assumption College naming their football "stadium" after former student and head coach Brian Kelly.

- Why is all COVID "news" bad? Because the MSM is hot garbage?

- With Neera Tanden choice, Democrats stick it to Bernie Sanders supporters.  

- True - very true.

- Reasons to be thankful (couple years old but the points still stand)

- Pretty good summation of Danny Ainge and the Celtic's offseason 

- Covid Kabuki

State of the Celtics

 Free agent Gordon Haywood signed a 4-year $120 million dollar contract with the Charlotte Hornets and suddenly some people are calling for Celtics' President Danny Ainge to be fired. Of course if Danny Ainge had matched the offer to Haywood these same people would have been calling for Ainge's firing even louder. 

The Celtics should have done a sign and trade with Indiana they say. What part of the "sign" in sign and trade do these people not understand? Indiana probably rightly wasn't willing to go to a 4th year so Haywood went to the Hornets who put a huge offer on the table. 

And BTW - of all the people criticizing Ainge in the media or on Twitter - how many of them predicted Haywood would be going to Charlotte? I'd set the over/under at ZERO.

Looks like the Celtics had about $9 million to sign a player after losing Haywood. They used that money to sign free agent center Tristan Thompson (2-years $19 million) and back-up point guard Jeff Teague. This is a young team with lots of depth. I like this team.

The starting five of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum and Daniel Theis can play with anyone. With Jayson Tatum signing a five-year $195 million extension it should also be remembered that three of the starting five are Danny Ainge draft picks. 

The bench is a good mix of young players and veterans. The key to success this season (besides actually having one and players staying healthy) would be for one of the three of Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, and Grant Williams stepping up to be key contributors or valued sixth men.

I do admit that I was hoping to see Aaron Baynes coming back to Boston but in Danny I trust.

NBA Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NBA thoughts and observations as we near official NBA free agency.

I'm 100% in favor of the Celtics offering Kemba Walker a 4-year max contract. I hope this signing comes true... That would leave just starting center as a position of need for Boston and the solution I'd love to see happen is Danny Ainge trading a 2nd round pick in next year's draft to Phoenix to get back Aron Baynes who might not be the best talent available but who we know fits chemistry wise and is familiar with Brad Stevens system. Assuming this transaction would be allowed by the CBA... There's been some speculation that Kevin Durant will file a massive lawsuit against Golden State for the way they handled his injury. I don't see this happening for three reasons. First if Durant still gets a super-max contract from some team (which he will) then where's the financial harm? Second Durant's own doctor cleared him to play in the finals. Finally Durant has made and will continue to make a boatload of money - why do something so negative that can potentially do as much damage to Durant's reputation as it would to the Warriors? Discovery is a bitch... Amused by the rumors of Houston trying to acquire Jimmy Butler. I really don't see him as a fit there because last time I checked the game is still played with only one ball. This has the potential to have the team chemistry of gummy bears and acid.  Also rumored that Boston might try to facilitate the sign and trade with the aim of getting Clint Capela which would be nice but not if it were to cost Marcus Smart. I'd be 100% against that...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Always skeptical when I read that the Celtics or Patriots are targeting certain players. Danny Ainge and Bill Belichick do not share their intentions with the media. That said - I hope the reports of the Celtics trying to sign Kemba Walker turn out to be true... Heh Heh... "Habits are the compound interest of self improvement." - Srinivas Rao... Who knew? Before Evel Knievel became famous as a daredevil bike rider he had a brief stint as a semi-pro hockey player... Interesting viewpoint on Democratic Party insanity from an old school liberal... Heh heh, "It's only physics if it comes from the Physique region of France. Otherwise it's just sparkling math." - Anna Hughes...

The State of the Celtics

Tonight is the NBA Draft and even though the Celtics have first round picks at 14, 20 and 22 (plus a second round pick at 51) - Boston fans are in a panic. They are in a panic because it looks like both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford are choosing to leave the team as free agents.

C'st la vie - chill out. Things are still very good.

Right now the Celtics could start the following players:

Marcus Smart (PG), Jaylen Brown (SG), Jason Tatum (SF), Gordon Hayward (PF) and Aron Baynes (C). That's a pretty good - and young (except Baynes) - starting five. Plus they'd be very fun to watch. And when you have Robert Williams playing at center - that's one of the best defensive lineups in all of the NBA.

Most Celts fans would like Kyrie Irving to leave at this point. The most common sentiment is "I'd be happy to drive him to the airport." Al Horford deciding to leave was a surprise and I for one will remember him fondly as a pro's pro who did all the little things and did them right. But going forward don't be surprised if the most common description of Horford in Boston will be "33-year old" Al Horford. But that's getting ahead of ourselves because Horford hasn't left for sure. He could just be testing the waters (unlikely but possible).

If Horford does leave then suddenly the Celtics have about $30 million in cap space (assuming Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier also leave as free agents) to use on one or two solid players. Add in whatever player(s) Danny Ainge drafts tonight and suddenly you are looking at a pretty deep 9-10 player roster. Sure they won't be top heavy with stars like Kyrie and Anthony Davis but it will be a solid lineup that will hopefully be (mostly) drama free.

Plus Boston still have Memphis' top pick in either next year's or the 2021 draft. That should end up being one of the best picks in the draft. Things are good in Boston. Celtics fans should all take a deep breath.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Tuukka Rask is the best goalie in Boston Bruins history. He was a monster with 35 saves last night (too bad the Red Sox couldn't manage a single save)... Interesting - Vlad Jr. breaks Danny Ainge's record for youngest player to hit a HR for the Toronto Blue Jays (people forget how great an athlete Ainge was)... "Either Shit or Get Out of the Kitchen" - Neil Gaiman (or maybe Terry Pratchett) from Good Omens... Am I alone in thinking Attorney General Bill Barr looks like Patton Oswalt's older more responsible brother?... Spherical Bastards would be a good name for a band (bastards no matter what angle you look at them)... Excellent advice... People had a good laugh at Elizabeth Warren's expense last October when she released the findings from her DNA test but that move was correct.  Her (falsely) claiming Native American heritage has pretty much disappeared as a talking point by her opponents. Credit where credit is due. Thought it was a mistake at the time...

2020 Boston Celtics

What the 2020 Boston Celtics look like is completely down to if Kyrie Irving wants to come back and if the Celtics want him back.

If Kyrie comes back then Danny Ainge has some moves to make. I really hope his first move is to sign Al Horford to a cap-friendly extension. And then maybe do the Anthony Davis trade.

If Kyrie decides to leave then the Celtics pretty much might be bringing back the rest of the roster as is (plus whatever new draft picks come to camp). Boston has no cap space and if Kyrie leaves the Celtis don't have the room to sign a top free agent. So keeping the team as is would have to be the course.

You'd be surprised at how much more popular option B is to many Celtics fans right now. Let Kyrie walk and keep the rest of the guys together. My head says keeping Kyrie is the right move but I'm honestly torn. Though I must say that I'm really fine either way. There's much more important things in life to fret over besides where Kyrie Irving decides to play basketball next year..

Red Sox Magic Number

The Red Sox Magic Number to clinch the AL East is now just 44. And in Boston that number makes you think of Danny Ainge.

Boston fans really have an abundance of riches when it comes to professional sports these days (and for the past two-decades for that matter).

Yankees suck!

Five Years Ago

Five years ago this week Danny Ainge announced that he had hired Brad Stevens to be the new coach of the Boston Celtics. Since then Stevens has won 25 games, then 40, then 48, then 53 and last season won  55 games. Would anyone be surprised if Vegas pegs the Celtics wins over / under at 60 wins next year?

It was also five years ago that Danny Ainge made the fateful trade that has since "netted" Boston Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum and Kyrie Irving. And yet not once during the past 5-years has Ainge been voted the NBA Executive of the Year.

Nets-Celtics Trade

It has now been five years since this robbery trade which eventually "netted" the Celtics Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and let's not forget next year's Sacramento pick (as long as it's not first overall). 

Just thought this anniversary was worth remembering by Celtics fans. How is it possible that Danny Ainge has not won NBA Executive of the Year at any time during the past 5-years?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Detailed look at all of Danny Ainge's NBA Draft picks

- Sad but this pretty much sums up the immigration debate

- Interesting - Stonehenge builders may have used Pythagoras' theorem 2,000 years before the Greek philosopher was even born. Bonus in the article the possible origin of the phrase "length of time."

- WTF? Seriously WTF?

- Germany's largest auto makers back abolition of EU-US car import tariffs. Interesting to see if this is a wedge issue dividing Germany and France in the EU.

- I've said it before but how ironic is it that Hillary Clinton's Presidential hopes may have been dashed by a sexual predator who was not her husband.

- I laughed too hard at this (hat tip Borepatch)

Brian Colangelo's Burner Accounts

Wow! Just wow! Blown away by The Ringer's fascinating story of Brian Colangelo and his *cough*alleged*cough* Twitter burner accounts.

Five thoughts immediately occurred to me during and after reading the article:

1. First and foremost I thought of Charlie Munger's advice about it being much better to try not to do stupid things than it is to try and be "smart". What Colangelo looks like he did would definitely qualify as doing something stupid. Don't do stupid things! Just don't!

2. Don't trust people who like big stupid collars.

3. This situation both helps the Celtics and also highlights how lucky Boston is to have a responsible adult in Danny Ainge as GM.

4. How ironic would it be if the first place Brian Colangelo turns to to try and save his reputation is JJ Reddick's The Ringer associated podcast?

5. If things really do come in threes - who will be the next well known person to destroy their career because of Twitter misuse? First Roseanne, then Colangelo, and then...

State of the Celtics

The Celtics are up 2-0 against the Cavaliers and are just 2 more wins away from being the biggest surprise team to ever make the NBA Championship. And they are doing this without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Haywood who both will be back full strength next season. And they have a pile of high draft picks in 2019. So I guess you could say the State of the Celtics is GREEATTT!!!

How are they doing this? Well according to one "rival front office guy" Boston finds themselves just 2 wins away from the NBA Championship because;

"They are a team full of killers. Some are loud like [Marcus] Smart and [Marcus] Morris. Others do it quietly like [Al] Horford, [Jayson] Tatum and [Jalen] Brown. And the best, quietest killer of all is on the sidelines because you never see it coming."

That's right - Brad Stevens the quietest killer of all. His nickname should be Brad "Hypertension" Stevens because he's such a silent killer. Celtics fans appreciate that Stevens is the best coach in the NBA despite not even getting a single friggin' vote for NBA Coach of the Year. And if you hear anyone point out that Brad is just .500 in the playoffs (21-21) you can be 100% sure that the person that said or wrote that is a jackass who knows nothing about basketball.

And let's not forget the front office led by Danny Ainge. Trading what ended up being the 8th pick in this draft for Kyrie Irving was a trade Red Auerbach would have been proud of. And no disrespect but when's the last time you heard any Celtics fan mention Avery Bradley?  Ainge traded him for Morris who has been the best defender in the league on LeBron James.

You could go right down the starting line-up:

Al Horford - signed as a free agent to a max deal and worth every penny. It should be remembered that at the time Horford signed Ainge was also pursuing Kevin Durant who had narrowed his choice between signing with either Boston or Golden State. That says a lot about how players are viewing Boston as a desired destination these days.

Terry Rozier - taken with the 16th pick in the 2015 draft. A pick that was roundly criticized by "experts" who are now seeing what Danny Ainge saw back then in Scary Terry.

Jaylen Brown - taken 3rd overall in the 2016 draft. A pick that was booed in Boston!

Jayson Tatum - also taken 3rd overall but in the 2017 draft. Ainge said he would have taken Tatum first overall but instead got a potential 2019 lottery pick from Philadelphia for basically waiting a half hour.

Marcus Smart - taken 6th overall in the 2014 draft. His stats don't come close to explaining how much Smart means to this team. I hope he doesn't leave as a free agent after this magic run is done this season.

That's a lot of talent on the court right there. Talent that can hold their own against anyone in the NBA as they are showing against Cleveland. And hopefully they can show against either Houston or Golden State in the next round.

The State of the Celtics right now and for the foreseeable future is excellent!

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum last night became the ninth rookie in Celtics history to score 1,000 or more points.

He joins pretty illustrious company. The first five guys are Hall of Famers. Radja's careen was cut short by injury; Walker was a 3-time All-Star who scored over 15,000 points in his career and Ron Mercer had an 8-year NBA career. If Tatum just averages the careers of the 8 other guys on the list the chances are high that he too will be a Hall of Famer.

Nice pick by Danny Ainge.

2017-18 Jayson Tatum
1997-98 Ron Mercer
1996-97 Antoine Walker
1993-94 Dino Radja
1979-80 Larry Bird
1970-71 Dave Cowens
1962-63 John Havlicek
1956-57 Tommy Heinsohn
1950-51 Bob Cousy

Kyrie Irving

Last night the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 102-88 and yesterday Jackie MacMullan had a tremendous article on Kyrie Irving and the trade that brought him to Boston. Well worth the read.

After you read that - listen to this audio from Kyrie Irving immediately after the game. He gives some great insight into his relationship with his dad and his personal motivations. Well worth your time.

As good as the Celtics looked last night some have said that Cleveland will have the edge in the playoffs once Isaiah Thomas is healthy. I don't necessarily disagree with that but to those folks I would remind that Danny Ainge still has the $8.4 million injury exception to use to further improve the Boston roster.

And to Isaiah Thomas - we love you right back!

State of the Celtics

The news that Isaiah Thomas is about to start a rehabilitation with the Cavs G-League team got me thinking about the NBA and in particular all things Boston Celtics.

I'm still amazed that Danny Ainge turned the assets from the Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo trades into Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. And don't forget that he also turned Doc Rivers as coach into Brad Stevens as coach. There's not a single NBA team that would rather have Rivers over Stevens as coach at this point. Not one single NBA team.

Rivers didn't want to stick around in Boston because he didn't want to go through a rebuilding process. Since leaving the Celtics - Rivers has been 18-22 in the playoffs with the Clippers. Meanwhile in that same span the "rebuilding" Celtics have been 11-17 but poised to greatly improve on that playoff record this season and in the years to come.

Whatever the Celtics do in the playoffs this season is pure gravy. Fans are really interested in what can be accomplished next season with the addition of Gordon Haywood for a full season and another first round pick (or two) plus the probable absence of LeBron James from the Eastern Conference.

Speaking of draft picks - currently Brooklyn (11-18) has a better record than the Lakers (10-18). Hope that continues and somehow LA falls to between 2nd and 5th in the draft.

Good luck with the rehab IT4! Boston fans are pulling for you!

Jayson Tatum and the Changing NBA

Interesting article on Celtics' rookie Jayson Tatum and how he may epitomize the changing NBA.

In the past you had a line-up made of a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. These days the line-ups are morphing to a point guard, three wings and a big man. The "wings" and big man for that matter have to be able to guard and play multiple positions. The two words that are coming to define the modern NBA are "versatility" and "flexibility".

One small thing that really shocked me from the article was the revelation (to me at least) that number one overall draft pick Markelle Fultz has yet to attempt an NBA three-pointer. I know it's just a 4-game sample size and that Fultz is hurt but man is that a red flag. The Celtics really made the right choice in Tatum.

In Danny Ainge we trust.