Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from the 2018 offseason
By Kane Pitman
2. Celtics resist going all in on big fish
With an asset chest richer than any team in the game, the Boston Celtics were perfectly positioned to acquire LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard this summer. In what must have been an undeniably tantalizing prospect, they resisted, in what may turn out to be a genius move down the track.
LeBron is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving behind the Eastern Conference for the first time in his career, and in the process opening the door for a new contender to stake its claim to the title. The Celtics would have had to part ways with significant pieces and salary to acquire James in a sign-and-trade deal with the Cavaliers, potentially keeping the Cavaliers relevant in the process. Instead, they chose to let him ride off into the L.A. sunset and leave the Cleveland run of success in his wake.
The Kawhi Leonard story is an interesting one to monitor, reportedly unhappy to be traded to the Toronto Raptors. It remains to be seen if he will buy into their potential success. In pairing with Kyle Lowry, a fully engaged Leonard would launch the Raptors into legitimate contention with the Celtics in the East. What must not be overlooked was Leonard’s reported desire to be sent to L.A., given his contract is due to expire after the coming season.
Boston's extremely cautious on Leonard front. There's so much uncertainty w/ Leonard's future -- health, free agent desires, etc. Will Leonard be same player? That's hard to tell. Celtics don't have to make a risky trade and have no intention to do so. It's an interesting dance. https://t.co/gVECzgxrYM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2018
Rather than bank on the superstar talent of the two names above, Ainge and Stevens will be leaning on internal growth and good health — both through returning talents and improvement from a young core led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Kawhi and LeBron are absolute top-five talents in today’s NBA. They are bona fide superstars on the level that may well have rocketed the Celtics to the NBA Finals. But they weren’t long-term propositions in Boston. LeBron’s seemingly never-ending prime will come to an end sooner rather than later, while a Leonard rental was always fraught with danger.
You feel Ainge is both betting on the future, while holding unwavering faith in the current construction of this roster. It’s hard to fault that vision.