Danny Ainge says the Celtics rebuild could go a lot of different directions


Danny Ainge wants to bring another banner to the rafters. Some of his recent comments suggest that one of the courses this rebuild could take is a step back to take a few steps forward.




Some of this is posturing. Ainge never wants to appear desperate to make a move, but he isn't afraid of pushing all his chips in a manner that borders on desperation if he sees an avenue for improvement (see: Justise Winslow offer last draft). Clearly he is not going to say, "We feel this is the summer that we have to make a big leap forward and we will do whatever it takes to do so." That's just not a great look in terms of leverage.

I think what Ainge is referring to here is that if the Celtics land one of the top picks in the draft and want to build around him, it would make sense to pivot the rebuild to more of a development model. We don't know what the floor is for Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, but their ceiling is higher than anyone on the Celtics. If the Celtics land Simmons or Ingram, but fail to make a big splash via trade or free agency, you want the ball in their hands and Marcus Smart's hands. Maybe re-signing Evan Turner doesn't make as much sense even if it costs the team a few W's. On the other hand, if the Celtics add a star, maybe it makes more sense to bring Evan Turner back since he can make plays in Brad Stevens' offense and the team is going to look to contend right away.

This offseason the Celtics will again be very much in the thick of it as the team can make the cap space for two max contracts, has eight draft picks, and already rosters some promising players on great contracts.

Let's see what direction Danny Ainge takes us in for 2016-2017.


Photo Credit Steven Senne/AP


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