The Boston Celtics’ inactivity at the NBA trade deadline is nothing new, but that doesn’t it mean it didn’t ruffle some feathers.
It’s fair to wonder whether the Celtics could have done more at Thursday’s deadline considering they, you know, did nothing. Danny Ainge stood pat for the fifth consecutive year, and save for a buyout, what you see is what you get with the Green as they make their playoff push.
In past years, with LeBron James holding court in the Eastern Conference and the Golden State Warriors building the latest NBA dynasty, it was easy to see how the Celtics could be convinced to stay quiet at the deadline. This year, however, things are wide open. LeBron is in the West, the injury-ravished Warriors are tanking, and the East looks fairly wide open, assuming someone can knock off Milwaukee.
But in an interview Friday with “Toucher and Rich” on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Danny Ainge said he just couldn’t find the right move.
“It’s very simple: There were no good deals to be made,” the Celtics president of basketball operations said. “You have to find a partner when you make a deal. … We made many trades over the years. We’re not afraid to make trades. We were very busy over the last couple of weeks communicating with teams in the NBA, and there wasn’t a deal we thought was a good deal.”
Ainge said the Celtics had legitimate trade conversations with eight to 10 teams across the league, but in the end, there was a full consensus within the front office that there wasn’t something they were willing to do.
“This year was even less difficult because we unanimously agreed,” he said.
Ainge also explained there were some discussions about involving more than one team in trade talks, but that’s understandably more complicated. The Celtics also own three first-round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Ainge claims he was willing to deal any number of those selections but couldn’t get a bite.
“They’re valuable to some and not as valuable to other teams. They have some value, and you don’t just give them away,” he said. “We were willing to part with them. We talked about deals that we’d part with one of our picks, two of our picks, three of our picks, even four picks.”
But there was also a breaking point.
“I don’t want to give up picks for a rental player who will be our ninth man,” he said.
Again, that’s an understandable philosophy, and it’s hard to argue with the amount of regular-season success the Celtics have experienced under Ainge. But at some point, Celtics fans should want to see more than a loss in the Eastern Conference finals. Boston has just one title under Ainge’s watch and hasn’t played in the NBA Finals since 2010. If giving up back-end first-round picks for a ninth man was on the table and could have improved the Celtics’ title chances in the slightest — especially in this wide-open season — fans should be disappointed it didn’t happen.
Or, perhaps, Celtics fans should read that as a sign Ainge doesn’t believe this core is good enough to win a title in 2020. However, Ainge would dispute that claim, too.
“I do think that we can (win a title this season),” Ainge said Friday morning on 98.5. “I think a lot of things have to go our way, but our team has surpassed my expectations … Right now, we’re sitting here as the No. 3 defense 50 games through the season is amazing to me. It’s an amazing accomplishment, and I think we’re getting better … I’m optimistic about this group, absolutely.”
