Keeping our assets was the best move for the Celtics on draft night

This isn’t a popular opinion, but the Boston Celtics did the right thing by not trading away their assets for Jimmy Butler.

Jaylen Brown isn’t as good as Butler is right now, that is no secret. But watching his tape from his time at California, despite a poor performance against Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament, Brown has a lot of potential and a higher ceiling than Butler has.



Pundits around the NBA claim that the Celtics are in a “win-now” mode and need to sacrifice their assets for veteran players/stars. But in reality, what’s the rush? The Celtics core is still very young and under contract.

Jaylen Brown (19 years old) not signed yet
Marcus Smart (22 years old) signed through 2019
Avery Bradley (25 years old) signed through 2018
Jae Crowder (25 years old) signed through 2019
Kelly Olynyk (25 years old) signed through 2018
Isaiah Thomas (27 years old) signed through 2018

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t break this team up just yet.

There were rumors about what Chicago was asking for in return for Butler concerning this year’s draft picks and next year’s picks. If I’m Danny Ainge, I’m thankful that I didn’t pull the trigger on giving up next year’s pick swap.

Why? Because next year’s draft is loaded.

The likes of Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Ivan Rabb, and Lonzo Ball are just a few players that could be in contention for the top overall pick in 2017. The Brooklyn Nets are going to be just as bad (if not worse) next season than they were this season, especially since they traded Thaddeus Young to the Indiana Pacers.

I realize that building organically through the draft is frustrating and hasn’t been the mantra for Ainge or the Celtics nucleus, but this time it’s different. The Celtics could have two top-three selections in the next two drafts. And there’s still cap space to play with.

This year’s draft was a letdown for fans. Believe me, I was disappointed at the time, too. But upon reflection, no deal was the best deal for Boston. Just like it was last year when Charlotte turned down Boston’s four first rounder for a chance to draft Justise Winslow.

Well, we have our version of Winslow in Brown and we still have our assets to play with. A great piece by our own Patrick Bernadeau offers further analysis into the Winslow-Brown comparison.

Have faith Celtic fans, this is only the beginning.