Danny Ainge has become infamous for his “fleecing” of several teams in trades – most notably the trade with the Nets. However, as of late, many people – including Boston fans – have felt that he has underachieved these last few years. What could be the reason for this?
Welp, it is simple: Danny is trying to have is his cake and eat it too. In other words, Ainge keeps on trying to win now and build for the future. That sounds like a viable strategy, right? Well, it is not. It’s difficult to do so.
The gist of it is that Danny keeps on packaging or letting go of assets (mostly solid role players that could have developed more) for B-level or A-minus-level stars that usually a) Didn’t have Boston #1 on their list of desired locations, if at all, b) weren’t that great in the first place, c) won’t really fit the team in terms of playstyle or team fit, and d) have low intangibles.
Kyrie Irving was a point guard who didn’t have Boston on his shortlist of teams, and was not known for being a great (or even good) facilitator and defender. His strengths were his amazing craftiness, handles, and overall good scoring from all-around the floor. This is good, but it didn’t fit with the roster the Celtics had at all: Jason Tatum, and Jaylen Brown to a lesser extent, were small forwards who were a lot more than catch-and-shoot wings. They weren’t Joe Ingles. They were forwards that could handle the ball well, and that wouldn’t gel with a high-usage point guard like Kyrie Irving, who, again, was not a natural facilitator.
Celtics then also add Gordon Hayward. A small forward, who, at his best, averaged some 22/5/4. He, like Brown and Tatum, handled the ball a decent amount and often created his own shots. This is why when the four of them were together, one of them would often be sacrificed. Additionally, Kyrie was not the highest intangible player. He was clutch (it was really just that 2016 shot), but as a teammate has always had mixed reception. Hayward wasn’t bad, but was always rather aloof even in Utah.
Danny Ainge got them to help the Celtics win now (along with Al Horford), but it was a poor decision because their intangibles and team fit were lacking. What was the hierarchy of those Celtics teams from 2018-2019? We see this issue even now with Kemba Walker. What is the order here? Who is the go-to clutch guy now? Is it Tatum or Kemba? Smart’s offense has improved – and Brown’s offense has improved to a level where Hayward only shines when Brown is missing.
This exposes the fundamental flaw with Ainge’s approach: If you try to build for the future and win now, it requires you having to keep your best young assets (Tatum and Brown), which hurts your ability to trade them for proven superstars to win now. As a result, you get traded players or free agents that were always “2nd-rate”, to say the least. Kyrie at best is a 2nd option on a championship team. Horford probably shouldn’t even be your 2nd best player if you are trying to win a championship. Hayward is a B level guy who isn’t really remarkable at anything. Kemba is good, but is in that 2nd tier of great guards.
If you are Danny Ainge, you have to decide: Do you win now or build for the future? Well, luckily, Tatum and Brown have already gotten good enough to where you can start winning now with them. Here’s what to do: Take the Denver Nuggets strategy of just building around your guys through the draft.
