WALTHAM, Mass. -- Having constructed a championship roster once before, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has earned the benefit of the doubt in these parts. When trade deadlines and drafts have passed without big-splash activity, fans have typically invoked the catchphrase: "In Danny we trust."
Avery Bradley is the longest-tenured member of the Celtics, and the only player who has been part of the transition from the most recent Big Three era to the don't-call-it-a-rebuild rebuild under coach Brad Stevens. Bradley subscribes to this Ainge-obeying philosophy.
"I know Danny will make the best decision. I trust him. In all these years I've been here, he's been making the right decisions for our team," Bradley said this week after being asked whether Boston missed an opportunity to nab an All-Star when Jimmy Butler was moved to Minnesota on draft night.
Added Bradley: "No matter what people thought about [Ainge's decisions] at the time, they always ended up to work out."
Here's the crazy part about Bradley's declaration: If Ainge and the Celtics check all the boxes on their summer to-do list -- which not-so-secretly includes chasing both Gordon Hayward and Paul George -- then Bradley is a likely candidate to be moved, either to dump salary to clear max cap space or as a contract to make salaries match in a trade.
Peppered with questions this week about Boston's summer road map, Bradley could have easily lobbied for Ainge to keep the current core intact. He could have suggested that the Celtics should use cap space to explore extensions for soon-to-be free agents such as himself and Isaiah Thomas.
Instead, Bradley said fans should have confidence in Ainge.
"[Ainge and his staff] do a great job of getting the right guys in here," said Bradley. "I'm confident that they'll do whatever's best for the Celtics."
In Danny he trusts.
The Celtics spent approximately 6,528 days over the salary cap, culminating with three years of seemingly perpetual roster change that allowed Ainge to finally put on his swim trunks and dive headfirst into a free-agent pool last summer. In typical Ainge fashion, he swung for the fences by pursuing the two biggest free agents on the open market, landing one (Al Horford at four years, $113 million) and making the other at least consider the possibility of playing in Boston.
Kevin Durant certainly made the right decision to join the Golden State Warriors, as his shiny new Finals MVP trophy confirms. Ainge's challenge this summer is to construct a team capable of hanging with Durant's super-squad out west.
So what is Ainge doing? Well, he is again chasing the biggest available names on the market.
"Danny is a magician when it comes to things like this." Celtics G Marcus Smart
While Ainge has been exceptionally patient while building this roster back up -- we're roughly 1,200 days removed from owner Wyc Grousbeck's "fireworks" declaration -- this summer could potentially be his last chance to construct a roster with the benefit of cap space.
Next summer, Thomas -- the player who may be most responsible for expediting Boston's return to contender status -- will be eligible for his "Brink's truck" payday. Bradley, if he sticks on the roster, will be a free agent as well.
Thomas could have spent this summer squawking about how his salary will drop to a mere $6.3 million this season, after finishing fifth in the MVP vote and earning his first All-NBA berth last season. Instead, Thomas has implored Ainge to use Boston's available cap room to chase the big-name talent that could help the Celtics close the gap with the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
In Danny he trusts.
Boston is in a fascinating position, able to be a bit of a chameleon given all its assets and flexibility. Yet there are still land mines ahead, even as the team prepares to pitch itself to free agents like Hayward, all while staying in conversation with the Pacers about the disgruntled George.
A lower-than-expected salary cap ($99 million) leaves Boston roughly $2 million shy of generating the room necessary to sign a free agent like Hayward or Blake Griffin. If either player was willing to take less-than-max money, it could help Boston preserve a key rotation player. But given the competition for their services, the Celtics might have to pay market value.
That means Ainge would have to move at least one rotation player -- Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart or Terry Rozier -- to clear the room to sign Hayward. It would also mean the team has to renounce its rights to restricted free agent Kelly Olynyk and some other contributors to recent playoff teams like Jonas Jerebko and Amir Johnson.
Unlike last season, when the Celtics just added Horford to their core, adding players this summer would come with concessions.
Ainge and his number-crunching sidekick, Mike Zarren, might be able to work some wizardry with the non-guaranteed contracts at their disposal, but there will still be obvious pain points in roster construction. Yet Celtics players, some whose jobs are most at risk, don't seem overly concerned.
"Danny is a magician when it comes to things like this," Smart said this week.
In Danny he trusts.
The Celtics can't offer Hayward the same length and total value as Utah (five years, $172 million), but because he's not eligible for a super-max deal after failing to land on any of the three All-NBA teams, the Celtics can offer Hayward virtually the same money over the first three seasons with a four-year, $127 million offer. A player option in that fourth season would set Hayward up to re-enter free agency after 10 years in the league, when he could maximize his earnings by inking another huge-money deal, this time while being able to command up to 35 percent of the cap for a starting salary.
Dealing for George would require Boston to create a package that featured some of its draft-pick stash (though not necessarily the gems like next year's Brooklyn Nets pick) and rotation-caliber talent (Bradley and Crowder would be possible options) to make salaries match in a deal with Indiana. It appears that Boston, among all current suitors, can put together the most intriguing package for the Pacers.
But Ainge has stressed that there are no guarantees in this process.
If there has been one criticism of Ainge, it's the notion that he has been too reluctant to utilize some of his bigger chips to land a star via a trade. To answer this, Ainge has said recently that sometimes it seems rivals are asking more from the Celtics because of their well-publicized treasure chest of assets.
"I think there's some truth in that. I think you're spot-on there a little bit," Ainge said. "I know when I'm trying to do deals with teams, and I'm looking like, 'Oh, I'm going to call that team because they have something I'm really excited about.' I think people around the league know what we have, and they are asking for some of our prime real estate."
So if the Clippers cling to Griffin in the aftermath of losing Chris Paul, and if Hayward elects to stick it out in Utah, and if the Pacers move George elsewhere, Boston could strike out on all its top options this summer.
Few observers will feel bad for a 53-win Celtics team that went to the Eastern Conference finals and owned the No. 1 pick in this year's draft before trading down a couple spots (while adding another possible future lottery pick). In fact, some have pondered whether a slower climb is a better option for Boston, particularly given the talent that resides in northwest Ohio, the Bay Area and, most recently, Houston.
Boston has an intriguing group of young players, and Ainge could continue to explore trades that might eventually add impact talent, all while hoping that a top-five-caliber player eventually shakes free.
At age 58, Ainge, a father of six and grandfather of 15, said he has developed a patience that he might not have had earlier in his life. Ainge would clearly love to accelerate this title-chasing process with splashy moves, but he likes the young core that Boston is simultaneously building, too.
The Celtics believe they have two potential foundational pieces in No. 3 picks Jaylen Brown (2016) and Jayson Tatum (2017). The team thinks highly enough of the duo that Ainge has essentially dismissed the notion of trading either of them, so it would be a shock to see either moved this summer for anything less than a package that included a superstar.
Ainge said the team never truly considered moving this year's No. 3 pick in a secondary deal after moving back from No. 1. When asked recently about his reaction when teams call to ask him about Brown's availability, he said he all but hangs up the telephone.
This is an important summer for the Celtics but not necessarily a make-or-break one. It would benefit the team to make a big move, but the Celtics remain pliable thanks to the way Ainge and his staff have built things back up.
Still, deciding to make no major moves could be a tough sell to a fan base that has been worked into a lather the past two weeks with all the Hayward/George/Griffin chatter.
It could be the biggest challenge to the "In Danny we trust" mantra.