When Jae Crowder turns out to be your best summer signing you’re bound to question the validity of your rebuilding plan.
Seven seasons removed from the NBA title Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and company won in 2008, fans of the Boston Celtics will currently be doing just that. As might GM Danny Ainge, especially as, to date, this offseason’s also yielded a two year, $24 million deal for power forward Amir Johnson and a two year $10 million extension for Jonas Jerebko.
Danny Ainge and the State of the Boston Celtics
Crowder’s new deal will see him earn $35 million over the next five years, $7 million of which will land in his pocket next season. As a player who’s thus far averaged 9.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG in Celtics’ green and white he’s not exactly the kind of transcendent force that’s going to win Boston a championship. That said, he is indicative of the kind of player the Celtics are trying to amass right now: solid contributors on affordable, cap-friendly contracts who can help the team take baby steps back to relevance.
Speaking of which, they may have taken a huge leap in the right direction last season by sneaking into the playoffs.
And yet, while the first round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers was a nice moral booster, some factions of the Beantown faithful were less than pleased with the achievement, choosing to see it (as Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe did) as “short-term gratification… at the expense of long-term gain”.
This isn’t massively surprising, as, other than the experience and revenue it generated, the Celtics have little to show for a postseason adventure that saw them play extremely well through four games only to get swept.
Furthermore, they ended up selecting 16th and 28th in this year’s NBA Draft, picks they transformed into guard Terry Rozier and wing R.J. Hunter respectively. While both could become solid rotation players, neither is likely to be a star, which, again, is the root of Boston’s problem. That’s why they reportedly attempted to land a high lottery pick by using Marcus Smart, the 6th pick in the 2014 draft, as bait. That’s also why Ainge allegedly dangled a boatload of picks in front of Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets in the hope of earning a shot at Justice Winslow at nine. And that’s why they’re now likely to spend a second straight season as a bad playoff team, which, in NBA terms, is far worse than being a bad team, because bad teams earn good lottery odds, while bad playoff teams fight all season long for the right to get trounced by one of the conference’s top seeds when the postseason rolls around.
On the one hand the fact that the Celtics are trying to put together a solid foundation in the hope that they can snag a franchise-transforming free agent somewhere down the road is admirable. On the other, it’s risky, because everyone knows that tanking (in the style of, say, the Philadelphia 76ers) is the most effective way to transform an ailing team bereft of star talent into a contender.
Had the Celtics landed, say, Kevin Love this offseason that would have changed the complexion of their current situation entirely. But, as things stand, they’ve got a lot of middle of the road players – including the likes of Avery Bradley, Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olinyk – and a bucket full of draft picks that may or may not eventually provide what they’re looking for.
That said, for a team with the cap space to absorb the final year of his $15 million contract, David Lee was a nice pick up. He’s a savvy veteran who’ll help guide Boston’s glut of young prospects next season. While Isaiah Thomas, acquired from the Phoenix Suns at the trade deadline, is on a cap-friendly four year, $27 million deal that won’t hinder Boston’s attempts to land a superstar.
But, something’s gotta give. And it’s probably fair to assume that Danny Ainge will do everything he can to try and spin some of the pieces he’s acquired into gold some time soon.
Along with Lee, Johnson and Sullinger, he’s got 2015 2nd round pick Jordan Mickey and Perry Jones III (acquired in exchange for a 2nd round pick from OKC) clogging up the power forward spot, while at shooting guard he’s got Bradley, 2014 first round pick James Young, Hunter and Goran Dragic’s younger brother Zoran (a salary dump Boston acquired from the Miami Heat). None of these players are likely to attract many franchise altering offers in the near future though.
Perhaps Ainge’s best trade assets at the moment are Smart (a player who has plenty of upside but who struggles with his shot), Evan Turner (who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2016), Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger (who’ll both be restricted free agents at the end of next season). And yet none of these players (individually or even combined!) are likely to yield the kind of star talent Boston needs to kick start its rebuild.
Right now all Ainge can do is stick to the plan. He’s got an excellent coach in Brad Stevens and even though this offseason hasn’t seen his team improve a great deal, it certainly hasn’t seen it get any worse. Not that that will provide much solace for a man whose job depends on the success of this rebuild, a man who’ll be hoping a star player lands in his lap sooner or later, because right now it seems as if that’s the only way he’s going to find one.
