Over the past two years, the Boston Celtics and their President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge have made all the right decisions to push the organization into a new era of success.
They swapped out beloved veterans like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo for a stash of valuable first-round draft picks and numerous other trade assets. They hired Brad Stevens, one of the smartest coaches in the entire league. They kept the books clean and placed themselves in a constant state of ultimate flexibility.
But so far they have little to show for it but one playoff appearance—a sweep at the merciless hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. What's missing? What more can they do? The Sporting News' Sean Deveney gets to the bottom of it right here:
The Celtics need luck. Sure. Along with every team in the league. But they also need time, for young prospects to develop (Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, James Young, R.J. Hunter, Kelly Olynyk, etc.) and all those unused draft picks to materialize into actual players—whether via a trade or physical usage on draft night.
Rebuilds take time. But so far Boston has shown significant progress and should be applauded for their efforts. They've maximized the opportunity to get lucky, and that's all anyone can really ask for so early in a typically arduous process.
(h/t: Sporting News)
But for all the right moves Ainge has made in setting up Boston as an ideal situation — young team, good coach, plenty of financial wiggle room — the Celtics have come away with decidedly little. Where Houston pilfered James Harden and Dwight Howard, and Oklahoma City found lottery and draft luck with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Celtics emerged from this offseason with one major new signee, forward Amir Johnson, and one new trade acquisition, David Lee.
