Danny Ainge is responsible for quickly building the Celtics back into a contender following the departures of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. But he’s also responsible for their current middling predicament.
The Celtics are financially handicapped, forcing them to plan for an uninspiring and risky bridge year. The trouble began last offseason, when Ainge reportedly passed up a chance to swap Gordon Hayward for Myles Turner.
At the time, Hayward was hellbent on returning to Indiana, according to the Globe’s Gary Washburn. He said Packers were interested in a sign-and-trade, offering Turner and Doug McDermott for Hayward’s services.
The deal would’ve been a coup. Hayward was clearly declining as a player, and besides, he was going to leave anyway. Turner is a bonafide center and one of the best defenders at his position. He would’ve been a perfect fit for the Celtics, who lack a dependable big man.
It’s been one of their biggest flaws over the last five years.
But Ainge turned the deal down, and countered by asking for either Victor Oladipo or T.J. Warren to pair with Turner, Washburn reported. Unsurprisingly, the Pacers balked at the request. Oladipo is a two-time All-Star. Asking for both Oladipo and Turner was downright greedy — if it did indeed happen.
The Celtics eventually completed a sign-and-trade with the Hornets, sending Hayward to Charlotte for a conditional 2022 second-round pick. The big prize was their $28.5 million trade exception, the largest in NBA history.
Fast forward four months, and Ainge was under pressure to upgrade at the trade deadline. So he traded for sharp-shooter Evan Fournier, sending two second-round picks to Orlando. The price was minimal, because Fournier was in the final year of his deal.
But to acquire Fournier, the Celtics had to use $17 million of their historic trade exception, leaving them just over $11 million to play with. Fournier bolted in free agency, signing a four-year contract with the Knicks. The Celtics just didn’t have the money to keep him (his deal is worth $78 million).
Last weekend, the Celtics used the remaining portion of their exception to pick up veteran guard Josh Richardson, who’s nothing more than a mediocre rotational piece. Ainge could’ve turned Hayward into Turner. The Celtics settled for 14 games of Fournier and Richardson.
This is a big deal, because the Celtics could’ve even added more money onto their trade exception with the Kemba Walker trade. As MassLive’s Brian Robb notes, if the Celtics maintained their options, they could’ve mixed Al Horford’s salary ($27 million) into the exception. That would’ve given them $36 million to spend.
With that kind of cash, the Celtics could pick up any player in the league, including Bradley Beal, who’s due to earn $34.3 million this season.
Instead, the Celtics are left waiting for Beal to choose them on the free agent market next summer. It’s quite a Hail Mary.
Thanks, Danny.