In his latest column on the Celtics, the Sporting News’ Sean Devaney details the assets (young players, draft picks, salary cap space and TPEs) Danny Ainge has collected during this rebuild. In addition to looking at potential trades in the coming months, Devaney reminds us of rumored deals from the past:
Ainge might have wound up with Amare Stoudemire from the Suns in 2009. He might have gotten O.J. Mayo from Memphis in 2012. He might have brought in some combination of DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe in 2013.
Unable (and in some cases unwilling) to pull off those deals, Ainge has instead given the Celtics an amorphous blob of potential assets which includes draft picks, a small group of youngsters with talent and a trade exception worth $12.9 million.
There could be more yet to come—league sources say the Celtics are actively looking for homes for Brandon Bass and Jeff Green, as they’ve been doing for a year now. But it is unlikely that either will bring back a sizable return, if they’re dealt at all.
There is also new acquisition Brandan Wright, a player the Celtics like but would be willing to move if he brought back another draft pick.
First off, THANK GOD Ainge never traded for Amare Stoudemire and OJ Mayo. Those moves would have set this franchise back 5 years.
It doesn’t appear Ainge is going to get much, if anything for Bass, Green or Wright.
But as we all know well, life in the NBA changes quickly. If a contender loses a forward to injury, Ainge can offer a viable replacement on a short contract.
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