Danny Ainge: Celtics won’t make a ‘panic’ trade
After putting together a four-game winning streak, the Celtics are steadily creeping up the Eastern Conference standings towards a top-four seed. However, that hot stretch is not pushing the team to make a win-now move, according to Danny Ainge.
The team president of basketball operations told Toucher and Rich on 98.5 the Sports Hub Thursday morning that he is not putting any added pressure on himself to act before the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
“I can’t put myself in that position, because then you do silly things,’’ Ainge said. “I would like to do something to put us in that position (to win now), of course. Every day I’m thinking and trying to come up with ways to do that. But it’s just not that simple. A lot of the mistakes that are made around our league are people trying to do something too fast. They’re impatient, and they panic.
“We’re definitely not in a panic mode. We have objectives that we would like to accomplish, but you have to make a good deal. We can’t just say we want to win a championship and are going to get so-and-so. It’s not that simple.’’
Unlike last season, there has been very little movement around the league in January, as several franchises remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in both conferences. Despite making no moves, the Celtics have been able to improve in recent weeks with internal adjustments, winning seven of their last nine games overall since Brad Stevens has opted for more small-ball lineups.
While Ainge has plenty of capital to trade with draft picks and young players, for now he seems content to remain patient and see how the team’s adjusted philosophy translate on the floor.
“Right now we’re on a nice roll, but winning for us is very fragile,’’ said Ainge. “You have to stay humble, keep working and play hard every night. I always worry when we have success that our team will let their guard down, thinking they’re a little better than they are, but I’m happy with the way they’re playing. It’s been fun.’’
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