Following their second consecutive early-round playoff exit, the Boston Celtics seem to be on the verge of breaking through in the Eastern Conference.
With a ton of young talent and assets available to them in the upcoming NBA Draft, the expectation has to be that Boston wants to make a huge move to reach contending status.
Always thinking as much about the long term as he is about the short term, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is warning fans not to expect a huge splash this summer.
“Ownership would like to see something happen faster and I know my coaches and players want to see something faster. I’ve been in their positions and I get it, I want to see something faster too,” Ainge said, via CBS Boston. “But I have to protect us from doing something irrational from doing something that gets us a little bit better. If it’s something that gets us to being a true championship contender faster, we’re all for it. As long as it’s a sustainable formula and not a one-year quick hit, sacrificing future assets.”
Boston was actually on the winning end of one of those deals a few years back when it sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the then New Jersey Nets for multiple picks, one of which ended up being the No. 3 selection this year.
It makes perfect sense for Boston to go slow with this process. The team might be a player or two away from seriously contending for an NBA title. Unfortunately, there are too many teams out there that have mortgaged the future for a win-now mentality, only to fail to actually win now. Brooklyn being the most-recent example here.
Boston is coming off a 2015-16 season that saw it increase its win total by eight games from the previous season. Though, it was unable to get past the first round for a second consecutive season.
This might lead some to lose a bit of patience as it relates to Ainge’s strategy. Though, it’s important to note that the Celtics’ 48 wins this past season represents nearly twice as many games as the team won back in 2013-14. Patience has been key here.
Improving from year-to-year is a more sound strategy than attempting to catch lightning in a bottle. Look at the defending champion Golden State Warriors as a case study.
Simply put, the ability to add someone of LeBron James’ ilk doesn’t come down the pike too often. Outside of that, attempting to build for one season makes little sense.
There’s a solid young nucleus to build with from within in Boston. Isaiah Thomas proved himself to be an All-Star performer this past season.
Meanwhile, the likes of Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder improved a great deal from previous seasons.
Boasting four of the first 31 picks in the upcoming draft, including the No. 3 overall selection, Boston is in prime position to build an even strong nucleus. It appears that Ainge isn’t willing to throw that away.
It will definitely be interesting to see how this team navigates through what promises to be a wild summer in Boston.