Ainge: Celtics Have Plenty Of Opportunities This Summer, But No Guarantees
BOSTON (CBS) -- Danny Ainge knows this is a big summer for the Boston Celtics organization.
He had plenty of big summers as a player, usually filled with a victory parade around the streets of Boston. He also had a gigantic summer back in 2007 when the Celtics struck out in the NBA Draft lottery, landing the fifth overall pick rather than a top-two selection, only to swing franchise-altering trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Adding that duo to Paul Pierce made Boston instant contenders, and less than a year later, Ainge enjoyed his first parade through the streets as Boston's president of basketball operations.
Now he's hoping history repeats itself, armed with enough cap space to add a pair of max contracts (hopefully star players at that), three first-round picks (including Brooklyn's potential top three selection) and eight overall, and loads of young talent to swing in a deal.
But even though it appears the Celtics are destined to make a monster splash and turn their roster into a title contender once again, Ainge knows there are no guarantees when it comes to building an NBA contender.
"We look forward to every offseason. This offseason is bigger. My expectations are high this offseason, and yet I also know that it takes good fortune. We need the ping pong balls to bounce our way to give us the best opportunity. Whether we use that pick or whether we trade that pick, and in free agency, we have opportunities," Ainge told reporters Wednesday as the team welcomed in their first round of draft workouts. "And that's all we have. We have no guarantees of great things happening. We just have a lot of hope. And so we have a lot of work ahead of us, and we have to have plan A through Z. Usually it's more A through G, but we have A through Z this year just to have an opportunity to upgrade our team."
People will draw comparisons to the summer of 2007, but Ainge notes there are a few big difference this time around.
"I'm not sure we have a Paul Pierce on our roster. But we do have a lot more things to trade, to move," he said, adding this summer is rare air for Boston because of their available cap space.
"I don't think we've ever had cap space, so this is a unique opportunity. We have to be patient too," Ainge warned. "There is a lot of money around the league; a lot of teams have cap space with the TV contracts kicking in. We're looking forward to that opportunity in July."
Make no mistake, the Celtics are eager to get back in contention. Ainge said he enjoyed what was a "fun season" in 2015-16, but the team fell short of raising another banner. While they will be patient with their moves, the urgency is there.
"There is plenty of urgency to try to do our Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. But yo have to be really careful if those don't come about and what you do with those assets. It doesn't really do us any good to put a noose around our neck and say there is all this urgency," he said. "Brad Stevens wants to win, Isaiah Thomas wants to win, Avery Bradley wants to win – we all want to win and be contenders. But we also have to be patient and do good deals, and not do bad deals."
