For Celtics, there’s no Love — and no quick fix in free agency
COMMENTARY
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge could not afford to snooze during the early hours of NBA free agency. Maybe he can someday, seasons down the road, after his roster, which currently is structured to dominate a 6-foot-5-and-under league if not yet the Eastern Conference, has a legitimate (and hopefully very tall) star as a centerpiece.
But no sleeping, not now. Such a privilege is reserved for those whose quest for greatness is long fulfilled and sustained. No, not you, Pat Riley, you perpetually charmed, Justise-stealing weasel running the Heat in Miami. Go give Dwyane Wade a thanks-for-everything deal that’ll make Kobe look like a bargain, please.
We’re talking about Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who not only had the best line about the NBA’s free agency frenzy, but an admirable approach to the process as well.
“I’m not calling anyone at midnight,’’ Popovich told the San Antonio Express News on Monday. “I’ll be in bed. And if that’s the difference in someone coming or not coming, then I don’t want them.’’
The Celtics should be so fortunate in the far-off future to adhere to a similar approach. Of course, that requires Boston becoming a wildly successful franchise again, but this time with an allure that has never been part of the franchise’s cachet even in the best of times: It would have to become a free-agent destination for at least one coveted prime-of-career free agent. It never has been, and no, for all of his high-flying achievements elsewhere, Dominique Wilkins ’94 most certainly does not count.
All it takes is one star to say “yes,’’ though, and so while the early rumors and results regarding the Celtics on Day 1 of free agency are hardly inspiring (Amir Johnson is signing on, while Gerald Green and Corey Brewer apparently got we’re-interested phone calls) you know Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens will put in the recruiting effort. The irony, though, is that the Celtics’ free-agent fate entering Wednesday seemed to be somewhat connected to how the pursuit of a coveted player plays out for … the Spurs.
While Popovich might have gotten himself a decent night’s sleep, it’s apparent that the Spurs got to work before anyone had to hit the snooze button. San Antonio has been clearing cap space in hopes of signing LaMarcus Aldridge, who would be a disgustingly perfect fit for the Spurs.
So how does that affect the Celtics? Actually, it doesn’t at all now, what with Kevin Love deciding to return to the Cavaliers, reportedly for five years and $110 million. But the working theory was that if Aldridge chose the Spurs over the Lakers, with who he’s already met, the expectation was that the Lakers would have turned their attention to Love. Love was the one big-ticket free agent who made sense for the Celtics and – this is where the field narrowed — has had an open mind in the recent past about playing here.
Instead, he’ll be riding shotgun with LeBron for the next five years, and while there’s miniscule consolation in that the Lakers are also disappointed, we’re left with the reminder that it’s going to be rather difficult for the Celtics to acquire their next superstar anytime soon.
Perhaps that player is someone who has not yet played a second of college basketball, or perhaps he comes via trade. But what’s become clearer since the draft, which was as unfulfilling in the moment as fizzled fireworks, is that despite the Celtics’ encouraging finish last season (they won 24 of their final 36 games), patience is going to be required and tested as Ainge pursues a centerpiece or two. They just haven’t accumulated enough assets yet.
Those oft-discussed Brooklyn draft picks – unprotected first-rounders in 2016 and ’18 as well as the right to swap first-rounders in ’17 — will become more enticing the nearer we are to the moment when they are usable. On that note, here’s to the Nets morphing into the 1981-82 Cavaliers. But right now all they have to offer is Marcus Smart and some moderately appealing picks. They’re getting there, but they are not yet in the position to make a deal like the blockbuster for Kevin Garnett should a similar opportunity present itself soon.
(One lingering mystery from draft night is whether the Celtics actually offered one of the Brooklyn picks among the four first-rounders offered in their attempt to move up to No. 9 and draft Justise Winslow. I did think it was fascinating that Ainge hinted during his Toucher and Rich call-in last Friday that Michael Jordan will regret passing on the offer to take Frank Kaminsky, whose ceiling to me seems to be a righthanded Raef LaFrentz. I’ve also heard that the Celtics made the same offer to the Heat at No. 10. I can’t imagine how insufferably smug Riley must have been while saying, “No, thanks, we’re going to take the guy you want instead.’’)
It has not required more than a few hours on Day 1 of free agency to realize that this process will play out similarly to how the draft went. The Celtics are not getting a superstar, but more pieces and assets, some of whom might be redundant. Those requiring instant gratification are not going to be happy. They also don’t understand the complexities of the process. It’s harder to build a franchise in the NBA than in any other major professional sports league.
The best the Celtics can do for now, it seems, is retain one of their finds from last year, Jae Crowder, while trying to discover a few more. Amir Johnson is tough, but here’s hoping he’s not arriving as Crowder departs. Orlando’s Tobias Harris wouldn’t move the needle in terms of ticket sales and CSNNE ratings, but he’s an offensively skilled 22-year-old who happens to be much taller than 6-foot-5. Signing him to an offer sheet would be a good place to start.
The Celtics lost out on Love, and that’s a bummer. I’ll miss the annual rumors about him coming here. But that doesn’t mean all is lost. It means that patience will remain one more necessary asset for the Celtics during the prolonged and meticulous rebuild. For Ainge, there’s no sleep, figuratively at least, until the Brooklyn picks are utilized one way or another.
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