Wyc’s waiting game
C’s owner Grousbeck hopes trades lead back to the playoffs
Wyc Grousbeck couldn’t put a finger on it, but something had to change.
Here the Celtics were, bouncing between the fifth and eighth seeds in the Eastern Conference without much stability because of their mediocre play, and the Celtics owner simply had the general sense that Danny Ainge was right to make changes to the lineup by Thursday’s trade deadline.
“When I’ve been watching the games in person and on TV, both, I feel like I had seen a mixed bag of games,” Grousbeck said Friday of the quality of the product.
“It felt right to change some pieces. It felt right to change it up somewhat and add a new piece — Evan Fournier, Mo Wagner,” he said of the two new Celtics, also including backup big man Luke Kornet. “I felt a little bit of change was necessary, but that wasn’t a reflection on the guys we sent out. We just wanted to make a move or two to see if we could get better.
“We think we may have gotten better (Thursday), but that’s not a reflection of Daniel Theis, who was a total pro and a great guy. We’re going to miss him.”
But with a limited number of fans set to attend a Celtics game in the Garden for the first time this season, Grousbeck wants to see something that will boost their hopes.
Fournier’s skill as a scorer and playmaker certainly deepens the lineup, and Wagner is a young, aggressive big man.
Whether these additions will be enough to send a 16th team to the playoffs in the 19 seasons the current Celtics ownership has been in charge remains to be seen.
Not getting there has never been considered an option for a group accustomed to a status that is somewhat in peril.
“We’ve been in the playoffs I don’t know how many years out of the 18 we’ve been here, and it’s a lot,” he said. “If we’re out of the playoffs we’ll deal with it, but we want to be in the playoffs. That’s not an excuse for making them this year. I hope we’re in.”
Grousbeck has come out publicly this season in support of Ainge and his coach, Brad Stevens. He’s glad to have Marcus Smart, a persistent name in trade rumors, back.
“We love having Marcus on the team with his competitiveness and his drive and his passion,” said Grousbeck. “That’s a comment about everybody who stayed. Everybody who’s here we wanted to have.”
But the trades and nontrades haven’t changed Grousbeck’s mind about what he sees on the floor. He still needs to see more.
“I feel the same as I did before, that my fundamental feeling is we have to wait and see with this team,” he said. “We’ve got talent, we’ve got two all-stars and three who have been in the all-star game recently, counting Kemba (Walker). We have good talent, and a mediocre record. So I’m still in wait-and-see mode on this team. That hasn’t changed. I’m waiting for it to come together better, and I hope it does.
“I don’t have that answer. It has to come within,” said Grousbeck. “It doesn’t come from a move or two around the trade deadline — it comes from inside. Now we’re in the stretch run and let’s go. I’m optimistic that good things will happen, but it has to happen.”