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Are the Celtics the NBA’s Most Functional Franchise?

By Michael Hilperts

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Since their inception in 1984, the Los Angeles Clippers have consistently sustained mediocrity while attracting controversy – making them the most dysfunctional franchise of all-time. Meanwhile, the Celtics are their antithesis, being the historically most functional franchise. But in 2015, are they currently? 

Right now the big news (only news?) circulating the NBA concerns the Los Angeles Clippers’ and the recent fine they received in punishment for their shady incentive-laced offer they pitched to DeAndre Jordan. Prior to him reneging on his verbal agreement with the Mavericks, the Clippers’ pitch to cajole Jordan included an prearranged sponsorship deal with Lexus that would have paid Jordan $200,000 a year.

The deal violated the NBA’s anti-circumvention rule, which – according to the NBA:

"…(the rule) prohibit(s) teams from, among other things, providing or arranging for others to provide any form of compensation to a player unless such compensation is included in a player contract or otherwise expressly permitted under the CBA."

In response, Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer issued an internal memo to the Clippers organization affirming the franchise broke the rules inadvertently. He also highlights how the sponsorship deal, which was no longer in place following Jordan’s (initial) decision to join the Mavs, had no bearing on DJ’s decision to return to the Clippers. While it’s unclear whose idea it was to include this supposed deal, it’s understandable how Ballmer, who’s only in his second-year of NBA ownership, could have misinterpreted the rules.

In comparison to Donald Sterling – the Clippers’ slumlord former owner – Steve Ballmer has been saintly; his reputation around the league seems respectable enough to warrant a pass for this oversight. However, in a seemingly-unprompted move, Bill Simmons unleashed a flurry of tweets questioning Steve Ballmer’s competency as an NBA owner:

"Steve Ballmer seems like a nice enough guy. Donald Sterling was one of the worst human being who ever owned a pro sports franchise. With that said – since last summer, the Ballmer Clips have been just as much of disaster behind the scenes as the Sterling Clips were. Ballmer has shown ZERO evidence that he knows what he’s doing. And it’s been the best kept secret in the NBA for 15-16 months. The Clips organization has been as dysfunctional as ever – not just the team but especially off the court. It’s a laundry list of things. And I’m gonna be interested to see which reporter jeopardizes their long-term access/connections to write the story… Cuz it’s coming… Three most dysfunctional NBA organizations right now are the Kings, Hornets and Clippers and I am not sure of the order… (Ok I’m done) PS: Sorry to offend the Knicks and Nets fans that you don’t have a top-3 most dysfunctional NBA organization… You were honorable mention."

(*Edited to include all the tweets)

Simmons appears to be alluding towards additional incidents surrounding Ballmer. Considering he’s now without a platform, Simmons doesn’t appear willing to share such information. So operating under the assumption this most recent incident has been the Ballmer-Clips’ most egregious, Simmons’ assertions seem rather extreme.

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In response, Clippers’ play-by-play commentator Ralph Lawler fired back at Simmons, claiming his antics were an effort to merely stay relevant between jobs. And to personally defend the Clippers, they’re a legitimate contender whose managed to significantly improve this offseason (addition of Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce, plus re-signing DeAndre Jordan and Austin Rivers). Plus, they still have two of the top-ten players in the NBA: Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

Having said that, I certainly don’t claim to be an insider so Simmons may very well be correct in his implication that there’s some unreleased dirt on the Clippers that could very well support his claim regarding their dysfunction.

But that prompts the question, if the Clippers are one of the three most dysfunctional NBA organizations (according to Simmons, at least), who are the NBA’s most functional franchises? Could it be the Boston Celtics?

Maintaining Stability and Avoiding Sustained Droughts

Historically, the Boston Celtics are the NBA’s unequivocal most functional franchise. The team has managed to win the most championships while remaining one of the most culturally significant sports teams of all-time. According to Forbes Magazine, the Boston Celtics – valued at $1.5 billion – are the 20th most valuable sports franchise in the world (fourth most of NBA teams) despite the city of Boston being only the 24th most populated in the United States.

However, to parallel Simmons’ rhetoric, are the Boston Celtics currently the NBA’s most functional franchise?

This distinction allows teams to enter the conversation who haven’t always been organizationally sound. For example, the Memphis Grizzlies’ arrival in the NBA was nothing short of disastrous when they were still the Vancouver Grizzlies. In recent years though, the team has contended in the formidable Western Conference, thanks to the team’s bolstering self-image (grit n’ grind) and the front office’s commitment to their culture and adherence to advanced stats (thanks to stats-guru, John Hollinger being their vice president). Of the 30 teams, the Grizzlies have the fifth-longest current playoff streak – having made the playoffs for the last five years

Yet, making the playoffs isn’t necessarily a sign of a franchise’s functionality. Prior to last season, the Atlanta Hawks’ reputation was sub-par, despite clinching the playoffs the last eight years. In a league where finishing with a low playoff seed sentences a team to perpetual mediocrity (have to play high seed, low draft pick), the Hawks were criticized for their reluctance to commit to a rebuild, as their core – circa 2012 – was simply too weak to contend and too strong to yield a high draft pick.

The Utah Jazz were additionally guilty of this until the Paul Millsap – Al Jefferson era ended. Since then, they rebuilt through the draft and reinvented itself under the leadership of Quin Snyder. From there, they elected Gordon Hayward its star and managed to find the next great shot-blocker in Rudy Gobert. The franchise has had a textbook transformation from a squad stuck in limbo to a burgeoning playoff team, guaranteeing consistent playoff clinches and perpetual improvement.

Meanwhile, the Celtics may have arguably committed to the Big Three for a year or two too long, but since the 2012-2013 season ended, Danny Ainge has landed the Celtics an arsenal of valuable draft picks. While the 76ers have also corralled plenty of picks, the Celtics have done so while simultaneously improving their players. This way, they can have other teams do their tanking for them (thanks Nets!), while providing their young players with valuable postseason experience.

Thus, along with the Jazz, the Celtics are the most functional of the current non-contending teams.

Avoiding Controversy and Perpetuating a Professional Culture

Unfortunately, regardless of guilt, criminal accusations plague a team’s culture. Yesterday, Derrick Rose made the papers for all the wrong reasons. To this point, Rose has largely been considered introverted and humble, but after yesterday’s news, his reputation will forever be tainted. Furthermore, it will cast a shadow over the Bulls next season, considering this will create a large distraction for Rose and Chicago alike.

Perhaps the most famous example of a good team spoiled by its misanthropic personnel, is the 2000-2004 Trail Blazers. As a result of their off-the-court antics, they became known as the “Jail Blazers”. With Zach Randolph, Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire either overtly stirring up dissension or procuring legal trouble, Portland fans took to booing their hometown team. And even though they clinched a playoff seed, their fan’s vocal disapproval of them made the team the mid-2000s bastion of dysfunction.

The Celtics have thankfully largely avoided negative press with their current core. Ainge has assembled a team that seems too committed to their team to risk compromising their culture with off the court misbehavior. The team’s plenty aggressive on the court, but each player seems capable of assuming a professional attitude off the court.

Creating a United and Obedient Locker Room

Players on the Celtics repeatedly praise Brad Stevens, even when seemingly-unprompted. This illustrates unity and obedience among the team. When players respect their coach, it allows them to forsake their ego for the benefit of the team. In turn, the coach is given the keys to the team, and can orchestrate the team from an unbiased mindset, which generally maximizes efficacy.

LeBron James displayed a deliberate disobedience towards coach David Blatt during the NBA Finals. He even admitted to scratching a play that Blatt had drawn up in a timeout. While LeBron James may be the one person good enough to justify this action, players undermining their coach generally doesn’t bode well for a franchise’s morale. For the Cavaliers’ younger and impressionable players, seeing their coach get publicly emasculated will forever spark a doubt in their perception of their coach’s abilities.

The NBA’s Most Functional Teams:

Brad Stevens’ ability to lead his lottery-bound team to the playoffs established him as a member of the NBA’s coaching elite. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Golden State Warriors

In order to win a championship, a franchise needs to be somewhat functioning. Awhile back, the franchise retired Chris Mullin‘s number immediately after they traded beloved second-round pick, Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut. When owner Joe Lacob’s name was announced during the ceremony, fans vehemently booed him. Two-and-a-half years later, the Warriors are the reigning Champions with Bogut as their starting center. The Ellis-Bogut swap therefore displayed a clear plan of action in place for the Warriors. Opting to start rebuilding their team with a formidable rim protector in lieu of an inefficient scorer (who are a dime-a-dozen in the NBA) proved an extremely prudent move on Golden State’s part – exemplified by their recent championship.

Miami Heat

You must be an alluring franchise in order to execute the single biggest free agency splash of this century. I’m, of course, referring to the LeBron James signing in 2010. To this day, Pat Riley uses his championship success as a sales pitch to woo championship-starved athletes. Riley also diligently rebuilt his post-LeBron Heat up from a lottery team into a top-two Eastern Conference team – nearly overnight. With a core now comprised of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, Riley has expertly surrounded this core with effective complimentary role players. Riley’s also been extremely loyal to his personnel, illustrated by his commitment to role player Udonis Haslem and homegrown coach, Erik Spoelstra. Because of Riley alone, Miami has become one of the premier free agent destinations.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs seemed to have found trouble over the last season (Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan), but to no fault of their own. While the DeAndre Jordan debacle was more a testament to Jordan’s immaturity than it was anything else, it also displayed Dallas’ ability to woo him in the first place. The low taxes, paired with Mark Cuban’s superhuman-charisma helped transform Dallas from sub-mediocrity to where they’re currently situated among the league’s elite franchises.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics deserve zero blame for their inability to land a star. Danny Ainge has done everything in his power to land the next Paul Pierce but he’s not going to compromise the future at the same time. He’s been able to secure playoff contention for the next several years in addition to procuring enough assets to potentially trade for a player in the future.

The NBA’s Definitive Most Functional Team: The San Antonio Spurs

If only the Spurs had not gotten the number one pick in the 1997 draft and the Celtics had, they would have been able to select Tim Duncan and had 21, not 17 banners hanging from the rafters. However, Rick Pitino probably would have messed that up, too.

The Spurs are the paragon of NBA success. They serve as the guidebook for smaller markets – illuminating the path to contending for teams lacking the incentives cities like Los Angeles or Miami offers.

Like any successful NBA team, the Spurs have been extremely lucky. First they selected Tim Duncan. Then they managed to pick up Manu Ginobili with the 57th overall pick, in addition to stealing Tony Parker with the 28th overall pick. With those three established as their core, head coach Gregg Popovich has meticulously crafted an international powerhouse majestically united despite their extremely diverse backgrounds.

The real puppeteer for this franchise is undoubtedly Popovich. While Tim Duncan has been a top-three player in the 21st century, it was the role players who Popovich surrounded him with that really elevated the team. Danny Green was in the D-League when Popovich acquired him. Boris Diaw was wasting away on a mediocre Hornets team. Going farther back, Pop was able to extract extremely valuable minutes from players like Stephen Jackson, Brent Barry, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen.

Just this year, Popovich enticed LaMarcus Aldridge to join the Spurs – over teams like the Lakers and Knicks.

So while the Celtics have been near-perfect recently, the Spurs have been more than perfect. They’ve been transcendent.

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