Far from ready for Celtics
IF Phil Jackson had his way, Kristaps Porzingis would be making his return to Madison Square Garden tonight with the Boston Celtics. However, Danny Ainge, the Celtics president, didn’t flinch last summer, especially when Jackson’s demands on the eve of the NBA Draft reportedly reached absurd proportions. A few days later, it was Jackson who was sent packing by James Dolan.
Ainge, who is a lethal combination of patient and shrewd, eventually made a better deal by acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston always wins, right? Keep that in mind tonight when the Knicks face the team with the NBA’s most wins. As Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry attempt to elevate the franchise from playoff contender to championship contender they’ll first have to find a way to beat the Celtics on and off the court.
The Celtics, who lost to Miami Wednesday night, are that good. LeBron James, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, will slow down at some point and fade away. Really, he will. Ainge has been planning for that day since he pulled off the heist of the century by trading Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets.
Ainge is in the business of collecting assets — draft picks and young players — and waits until that franchise-changing player comes along to use them. Exhibit A is Irving, the point guard out of West Orange, N.J., who hit the biggest shot in Cleveland Cavaliers history and eventually grew tired of living in LeBron’s shadow.
The price tag was Isaiah Thomas, who had an MVP caliber season last year but hasn’t played since May due to a bum hip. Jae Crowder is a solid player with a great contract but you trade him to get Irving every day.
The key to the deal was trading the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick to the Cavs. It was smart of Cleveland to demand that pick. However, with the way the Nets are playing, that pick could fall out of the top 5.
Meanwhile, Irving has been better than advertised while fully embracing the role and pressure of being the Celtics lead player.
Two months before the Irving deal, Ainge struck gold by trading down in the NBA Draft and selecting Duke forward Jayson Tatum third overall. Tatum may be the best player in the draft and the Celtics got him at three and acquired a future first-round pick from the Sixers.
You see what the Knicks are up against? Ainge still has enough assets that the Celtics could make a legitimate run at Anthony Davis should the Pelicans decide to reboot. ESPN reported that Davis is aware of the Celtics’ interest and even quoted Davis saying he was informed by GM Dell Demps last season that the Celtics inquired about his availability. That doesn’t mean the Celtics are going to get Davis, but it illustrates that Ainge is both aggressive and always thinking big. Boston won its last championship 10 years ago, completely remade its team and is a contender again. The Knicks have won a single playoff series since 2000 and have gone four years without making a postseason appearance. he Celtics have a top coach in Brad Stevens, a championship point guard and two terrific young players, Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And they have the most wins despite losing top free-agent signee Gordon Hayward to a gruesome leg injury five minutes into the season opener.
One of the league’s oldest rivalries has been considerably one-sided for nearly two decades. And from the looks of things, the Knicks have a lot of work ahead of them if they intend to close the gap.
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