Ainge "disciplined" on trade market, not worried about impatience of fan base


The last time Danny Ainge oversaw a rebuild, it took four years. He took over a Celtics team with Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker and not much else in 2003, and began stockpiling assets -- via both the draft and trades -- until he had enough to pull off trades for both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007.

This time, it appears that some media and fans are expecting things to happen a lot quicker. Just one year after Ainge blew up the Pierce/KG core, there seems to be some unrest about a lack of impact moves this summer. Kevin Love didn't work out, Rajon Rondo is still here, and the Celtics have spent this summer making a series of minor moves, creating frustration for those expecting more.

But Ainge continues to look at the big picture. He made his run at Love, is listening on Rondo, and has likely had discussions on many other players that haven't reached the light of day. None of them have happened, but to Ainge, that's ok. According to Steve Pagliuca (via Steve Bulpett of the Herald), Ainge has received plenty of offers, but none of them have been what he's looking for.

“Danny has been very disciplined,” Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca said. “He could have made a lot of deals by now, but not for the kind of player we want.”

That would be a rising star to pair with Rajon Rondo or, in the event of trading the point guard, another cornerstone player.

Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make, and it's silly to make a deal just for the sake of making a deal, or to simply placate your fan base. Would people really be happier if the Celtics overpaid (in terms of assets and/or money) for guys like Gordon Hayward or Omer Asik? Yes, the 2014-15 Celtics would be better, but they would also be in worse shape when it comes to acquiring a true franchise type talent because their cap space would be cut in half next summer, and they'd have less assets to work with in a trade.

So we wait. I for one am willing to be patient, as long as the 2014-15 Celtics are more fun to watch than last year's team (which I fully expect with Marcus Smart and James Young on board, a full season of healthy Rondo, and Brad Stevens in year two), and the team remains positioned for a run at some serious additions next summer (which I also expect with their salary situation and assets).

Thankfully, Ainge has never seemed like the kind of guy to give in to the demands of impatient fans, and he told Bulpett that he can't really focus on that.

“I can’t control that,” he said of a restless public. “Typically — and you see it with all of the teams here — Boston fans understand what’s going on. Everyone wants to win, but I can’t let these things impact what we’re trying to do. You can’t force this.”

The last line is the most important. You can't force this. You can't force another team to accept your offer, and you can't take a poor offer just to shake things up (well you technically can, this just makes you dumb).

So we continue to wait. It sucks being irrelevant on the NBA landscape, but I'd much rather wait and see if we can cash these chips in for a legitimate chance at contending rather than making band-aid moves that help only 2014-15. But for all of our sakes, let's at least hope we get some fun rumors over the next couple of months. I don't even mind if none of them happen (for now), but I don't want to be writing about how good Phil Pressey looks in summer workouts or anything like that. It's enough to drive a man insane.

Follow Mike on twitter - Mike_Dyer13

For more of my articles, click here