Last week, the Boston Celtics were eliminated in the 1st round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks in six games. The series was an exciting one, particularly when compared to some of the other 1st round series that were overall snoozefests that included the Indiana-Toronto and Charlotte-Miami series. Both series went the distance but lacked in excitement. The Miami-Charlotte series resulted in mostly blowouts and the only people who cared about the Indiana-Toronto series were those in Indiana and Canada. With no Canadian NHL teams reaching the playoffs and hockey ratings down 61% in Canada, Raptor fever is in full effect.
In the past, whenever I’ve had trouble falling asleep I would just put on some professional wrestling to help knock me out. Sure, it never gets old watching Shane and Stephanie McMahon battle it out verbally but when it gets to the part of the show where Ryback battles Kalisto for the 100th time it’s goodnight Neverland. However, any night Indiana and Toronto were playing I’d put that on instead since it seemed to work even better than NyQuil.
The Celtics, however, were much more fun to watch as they were the majority of the season. They suffered a major loss when guard Avery Bradley went down with a sprained hamstring in Game 1. The Celtics lost the game by one point after a strong second half comeback. Boston continued to fight hard throughout the series as they generally do but the bigger and stronger Hawks team was too much for the Celtics to overcome. The series loss was Boston’s second straight playoff elimination in the first round. The Celtics and their fans can’t be completely disappointed as a championship this season was never really realistic. Starting next year though it could be a different story.
The Celtics are loaded with assets going forward. Boston’s general manager Danny Ainge has done a marvelous job to help rebuild this once dominant franchise for the future. They have an astonishing 8 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. That’s more than a lot of NFL teams had last weekend. Those picks include three 1st round picks, and potentially the number one pick overall. Boston receives the Brooklyn Nets unprotected pick this season as part of the 2013 trade that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn. As it stands, Boston has the 3rd best odds of selecting first overall with a 15.6% chance of grabbing the top spot.
It’s not likely that Boston will use all of their 8 selections as they will attempt to use those assets to trade for more proven players already in the league. Other teams will surely be interested, especially if the lottery pick turns out to be in the top 3. Boston needs players to complement their point guard Isaiah Thomas. Look for them to go after players like DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Love, or Jimmy Butler in a trade. They’ve all been discussed previously in trade talks and Boston has the ammunition to get a deal done. Reports earlier this week stated the Lakers could target Pacers forward Paul George in a trade. If Boston wants to get in on those talks too they have a lot more to offer than the Lakers.
Boston’s barrage of picks doesn’t stop there. Ainge destroyed Brooklyn’s front office in the Garnett and Pierce deal. Or Brooklyn destroyed themselves depending on how you want to look at it. The Nets have always had a win-now mentality and it always seems to blow up in their face. This is a team that once panicked because they were unsuccessful in acquiring Dwight Howard at the trade deadline so they decided to make a trade with Portland instead for an aging Gerald Wallace. The Nets sent Portland their 2012 1st round pick as compensation for Wallace. Even with Wallace, the Nets had no realistic shot at reaching the playoffs so the pick turned into a lottery selection for Portland. So who did Portland select with their additional pick? Point guard Damian Lillard. That’s right. The Nets essentially traded Damian Lillard for an aging Gerald Wallace straight up. Let that marinate for a second.
Now let’s turn the focus back to Boston. In addition to Brooklyn’s pick this year, the Celtics still hold Brooklyn’s pick in 2018 and the right to swap picks in 2017. Given that Brooklyn is a complete mess right now and will take a considerable time to rebuild, it’s safe to assume that both picks will be high lottery selections. Ainge has worked his magic in other ways as well. At the trade deadline in 2015, the Celtics pulled off the trade that sent them Isaiah Thomas from Phoenix in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a first round pick this year that originally belonged to Cleveland. Thomas has been phenomenal during his time in Boston and has become the focal point of the team. Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has since admitted that trading Thomas was a mistake. The acquisition of Thomas has jump-started the Celtics rebuilding process and they can now focus on acquiring players that will make them championship contenders once again.
Besides all of the draft picks that Boston has coming and the assets to pull off a trade for almost any player they want, there’s one more thing that the Celtics have that makes them incredibly dangerous for the future: cap space. Boston will have plenty of space to sign 2 unrestricted free agents to max contracts come this off-season. Thomas is already on the books at a very reasonable deal. No one’s really talking about it but it’s not crazy to think that a player like Kevin Durant could be Boston bound once free agency hits. In fact, the Celtics are my personal favorites to land the perennial All-Star should he choose to leave Oklahoma City. If LeBron James does the unthinkable and actually goes through with leaving Cleveland again, he could have his sights on bringing a title back to Beantown. It’s a long shot for sure, but case in point, the Celtics could persuade almost any free agent of their choosing.
The craziest part in all of this is that still no one is talking about the future in Boston except for those in Boston. A lot of people are still pointing to the Lakers as potential landing spots for guys like Durant or even Washington, who just hired former Thunder coach Scott Brooks to be their new head coach. Washington is where Durant grew up and Brooks could help lure him to return home. Of course, anything is possible but Boston is already a much better team. Washington regressed this season and the Lakers are filled with drama. Yes, they just hired Luke Walton to become their new head coach but he’s not going to have the same kind of success in L.A. that he had in the first half of the season with Golden State. There will definitely be some growing pains regardless of who they bring in.
Should Boston miss out on LeBron or Durant like many expect, there are other options Danny Ainge could make to help Boston get back to where they once were. The Celtics need an effective big to man their frontcourt in the worst way. Daily fantasy players will tell you that they likely targeted opposing forwards and centers against the Celtics most nights they played. Players like Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside, among others, will be available this summer and are unrestricted. Either one would give the Celtics a major boost in their frontcourt.
Danny Ainge has done an exceptional job thus far but it’s far from over. Ainge must make good use of his 8 picks whether they be used in trades or selecting players that will fit in with the Celtic culture. He also has to decide what to do with some of his current players, including Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger. Sullinger regressed his game in a lot of ways and looked out of shape most of the season. He’s restricted this off-season and it’s likely Boston will not elect to match any offer he receives. Turner, on the other hand, stepped up in his time with Boston after under-performing in Philadelphia and Indiana. He’s unrestricted and will be looking for a nice payday. No doubt, Danny Ainge has his work cut out for him but everything is in place for him to make the Celtics a top contender in the NBA once again. It may not be that long before we see the Boston Celtics hoisting up their 18th NBA Championship in franchise history.
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