Can Danny?

The Celtics didn't make the playoffs, but that was to be expected with this young squad. While Big Al didn't show us as much as we wanted, we saw solid outings from Delonte West and Kendrick Perkins and the rebirth of The Truth. Ainge rejiggered the lineup yet again, adding another big contract but subtracting one big headcase in Mark Blount. Let's take a look at the job Danny did this year.

The Declining of Marcus Banks' Option: In this case, Danny went away from what I thought was a no-brainer. I've always been a fan of Banks, despite all of his flaws, and couldn't understand why we wouldn't pick up the option on his rookie deal. It wasn't like he was a disaster for this team. Very few rookies have had their option dropped and Marcus was better than all of them. This just made no sense to me but it actually worked out in Marcus' favor as he is looking to start collecting a legit NBA contract a year earlier (and after a half-season of very solid basketball in Minnesota.) While some people said that they thought this would help motivate Banks, that never really seemed to be the thinking for the C's since they dumped him as soon as he had proven that he was healthy. If anything, it just showed that Danny knew what I had suspected for some time: Marcus Banks was never going to fit in or mature on the Celtics. For whatever reason, he never got his shot, could never fit into the club. I think Marcus is going to turn out to be a very solid point guard but that was never going to happen while he was on the Celtics.

The Draft: Ainge gets a solid A for the draft. Green and Gomes were no-brainers where they went. Both times the pick before us came, I pretty much knew we would get whoever wasn't picked. in the first round, it was Granger or Greene. In the second round it was Gomes or Blatche. However, while the choices seemed obvious, you can't overlook the fact that Danny did what made sense, take the guy who fell in your lap instead of sticking with a pre-draft plan that didn't include the incredible slide of Gerald Green and Gomes. The only reason it is an A and not an A+ is that Danny's promise to Orien Greene prevented us from getting Amir Johnson.

The Signing of Veal: Bad from the word go for both parties. Brian left the perfect situation in New Jersey to come to a team he didn't fit. The Celtics got a mismatched talent and gave him a contract he most certainly didn't deserve. Even worse, we agreed to this deal before the signing period and basically took ourselves out of the free agent season since we used a good portion of the MLE on him. This is a perfect example of Danny signing guys who work in theory but not in practice. Scalabrine was never what we needed. He doesn't add defense or spot-on three point shooting from the wing. He doesn't add anything besides improved passing from the post. He makes good decisions but he's not the right fit for this team. Also, Ainge insisting that Doc try to work him into games early in the season could have been one of the reasons that Ryan Gomes languished on the bench for so long.

The Antoine Walker Trade: I don't really consider this a true trade because it was basically a favor to Antoine so that he could get more money. And in that case, it was a good move because now Antoine is overpaid in Miami. Had we not traded him, he'd have had to have signed at a more reasonable rate. I thought Curtis Borchardt would have been able to hang around for at least a little bit but apparently he was never in our plans. Part of me really wonders how we didn't get anything of use out of a five team deal but it really isn't a big deal.

Signed Will Bynum: Nothing came of this. He turned out to be a pretty good player in the NBDL but we didn't keep his rights and he went over to Golden St. Another inconsequential move, neither good nor bad.

Failed to resign Gary Payton: Really, what was the point of keeping Gary? Best case scenario, he helps us win a few more close games and we have a better chance at skating into the 8th playoff spot. We're better off with a lottery pick so not keeping the Glove made sense.

Traded for Dan Dickau: I liked the deal then. Dan's a solid PG on offense but an absolute abortion on defense. He's a solid backup. In hindsight, though, I'd rather have our second round pick instead of Dan. I still don't mind the deal but part of me wishes we had a second round pick to find a solid young talent with.

The Trade: Getting rid of Mark Blount was a great move. I'll always have that to hold onto as the silver lining of this trade. Other than that, I'm not happy with this deal. I'm not a fan of Wally at all and like him even less now that he's injured. Another issue I have with the deal is that we consolidated all of our mid-level contracts and got another big, hard-to-move contract. This deal made little sense to me and also was another example of Danny ignoring the salary cap and the importance of defense. While I know Danny loves to say that cap space is overrated, he needs to realize that spending that cap space on guys like Veal, Raef, and Wally isn't exactly worthwhile. Wally is a fourth option getting paid to be a second option. I thought this trade was bad when Danny made it and nothing has transpired to make me change my opinion.

Those were the moves of Danny Ainge this season and they looked a lot like the moves he usually makes: great draft, questionable trades, horrendous signings. Something else that is problematic is that his best acquisition of this season (Gerald Green) isn't a part of what he proclaimed to be the Celtics' core. Gerald's name was noticably absent (as was Gomes' who later played his way into Danny's good graces) and if the C's are looking to make a move this year, it will likely take at least one of our young players to make something work. Trading Gerald Green would be a massive mistake and one that I wouldn't put past Ainge. This is perhaps the most nerveracking offseason in the Danny Era because there are so many mistakes out there that could be made. Does Danny feel the need to add a big ticket veteran in order to win now? Is he still confident in the youngsters or has he soured on any like he did with Marcus?

Danny likes to say that he is rebuilding "on the fly" which is kind of comical because we are a lottery team now. If this is "on the fly" then the engine is sputtering and were buzzing some tree tops. What is on the horizon? Only Danny knows. And, after his moves this offseason, that makes me very uncomfortable.