Boston Celtics: Misguided Priorities

The 2015-2016 Boston Celtics have proven themselves to be a competitive team, one any other in the NBA would be foolish not to take seriously. But the Celtics are not championship contenders. Their 8-12 record against teams over .500 speaks volumes, and there’s also no precedent of a starless team achieving championship glory in at least the past 30 years. I know because I looked. Yet, the team’s focus remains winning at all costs. And trust me, Celtics fans, there are costs, ones with potentially long-lasting repercussions.

The ownership group and the front office don’t believe in this team. To them, this squad is capable of providing cheap thrills, nothing more. None other than the Celtics’ CEO, governor, and co-owner, Wyc Grousbeck, admitted as much in his recent appearance on the market leading radio program, Felger and Mazz, of 98.5 The Sports Hub. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at what was said during the following exchange between the Celtics’ highest of higher-ups and Felger:

Felger: “Well, you know, it’s just funny. When you come on here 12 minutes ago, the first thing I asked you is where you are in the standings, and how do you feel you’ve played this year. Generic question. And your immediate answer is, we have room for 2 max contracts and we’re building for the future.”

Wyc: “I’m just trying to be straight forward. We’d love to make an amazing trade in February and some how become contenders. We’re not saying we’re contenders right now. We are trying to take steps to become contenders. That’s all we care about.”

There you have it, Celtics fans. As currently constituted, your Celtics are phonies. And an “amazing,” to use Wyc’s word, trade would need to happen for this to change. Could it happen, though? That amazing trade? The Celtics win at all costs mentality would make more sense if it could. After all, for a contender, playoff seeding is a very important business. And it figures to be especially so this year in a much improved Eastern Conference.

The chances of the Celtics acquiring a star via trade are remote, though, to say the least. First, there are only a handful of true stars in the NBA, players who can take over a game at any moment, night after night. Consistency is what defines their greatness. Kelly Olynyk can dominate a game, for instance, but it could be weeks, or even a month or longer, between the times he does so. Secondly, star players are the true drivers of championship success. In the NBA you don’t win titles without stars, and every single owner and general manager across the league knows this. So the teams fortunate enough to have one or more aren’t eager to part ways with them.

And if the Celtics were lucky enough to pull off a trade for a star player, they’d be forced to pay an exorbitant sum: multiple first rounders, all of the team’s young talent, etc. Yet, still, the player we’d get in return would almost assuredly be flawed. DeMarcus Cousins is a prime example of this. There are those who would jump at the chance to take on the exceedingly talented, yet troubled Cousins. After all, he’s only 25 years old and is currently averaging 25 points and 11 rebounds per game. But others wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot poll, and you can count local hoops authority Jackie MacMullan as one of them.

Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

In her appearance on Early Edition a few nights ago, Jackie MacMullan said she recently spent some time close to the Kings’ organization and came away from her experience thinking if Danny were to mortgage the Celtics’ future on “Boogie,” it would be one heck of a mistake. She pointed to Cousins’ immaturity and volatility as her reasons — or, as I see things, Demarcus’ need to be mollified with soothing words and a big hug whenever something doesn’t go his way on or off the court. Have the Kings tried foot-rubs? I’ve heard they make all the difference.

Another problem with Boogie is he is currently undergoing an identity crisis of sorts. You should pity him, Celtics fans. The poor guy gets up in the morning, looks at himself in the mirror, but just doesn’t recognize the face staring back at him anymore! You see, Cousins, a 6-11, 270 pound center, has already taken 78 three pointers this season. How does this compare with other NBA players? Jared Sullinger, who has been driving all of us crazy over the past few years with his penchant for jacking up three pointers has only taken 55 of them so far this year.

Cousins shooting 3s at his intrepid rate wouldn’t be an issue if he could make them at a respectable clip. It would help to spread out opposing teams’ defenses, open up driving lines, etc. But he’s only shooting a paltry 30% from deep, a far cry from the league average. And don’t think he hasn’t been told to knock it off, either. His coach, George Karl, is no idiot, people. The man ranks 6th in NBA history for wins by a head coach. But Cousins has decided he knows better and continues to pursue his dream of becoming the league’s next great three point shooter. Reggie Miller. Ray Allen. Stephen Curry. Demarcus Cousins?….

Please, forget about Cousins, Celtics fans, at least for now. This kid is more emotional than the female lead of most soap operas, has a basement level basketball I.Q., and he won’t even humble himself enough to listen to one of the best basketball minds of all time.

What other “stars” are on the trade market? Well, Dwight Howard might be available, but he’s on the wrong side of 30, averaging his lowest amount of points per game since his rookie season, and is having his second worst year as a rebounder since then, to boot. He’s gotten too old too quickly to be considered a star any longer.

So if the Celtics ownership and front office don’t expect this team to contend with the current roster of players or to possibly pull off a trade that brings back a star player, how can fans tell if this season is a relative success or not? Don’t worry, Celtics fans. Wyc spells it out pretty clearly for us later in his radio appearance:

Felger: “And that’s what this season is. It’s trying to do the things to get you the pieces to get you the guys?”

Wyc: “Right, I mean, so if this year, if Smart and Sully and Bradley and others develop, you know, and R.J. Hunter or James Young start hitting shots or playing, that’s, those are elements of a successful season.”

What Wyc is referring to is player development, the improvement of a team’s youngest players. How are the Celtics doing then? Remember, Wyc’s standard of a successful Celtics season is at least partly defined by player development, in light of the team being a non-contender and the slim chance of that amazing trade happening any time soon. Are the Celts doing enough to ensure their young players (guys 25 years old or younger, let’s say) are being given the opportunities they need to refine their games? A veces si y a veces no.

Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Jared Sullinger are getting their fair share of opportunities. Smart was averaging just over 29 minutes of play per game before his knee injury; Avery is averaging about 32 minutes; the same is the case for Crowder; and Sully comes in as logging 25 a night. Not bad, Celtics. Not bad.

Unfortunately, there are other talented youngsters on this Celtics’ roster not seeing the court time you’d expect when playing on a team with only the most modest of playoff aspirations. R.J. Hunter gets a little run here and there, but while he’s made solid contributions, expect to see him a lot less once Smart returns from injury. James Young hardly plays despite improved defense and his continuing abuse of his D-League opponents.

Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey haven’t taken it any easier on the D-Leaguers. Rozier’s currently averaging over 20 points per game for Maine, to go along with 9 assists and 7 rebounds. And Mickey is averaging 19 point per contest, 11 rebounds, and an otherworldly 4.6 blocks. But neither play, and they’re seldom allowed to sit on the bench. Even Kelly Olynyk, who has had some spectacular moments lately and is shooting the three ball better than at any point in his young career, is playing less than 20 minutes a night for the Celtics. (Has anyone seen Tyler Zeller? Because I’m starting to worry.)

Now, I can understand why pick and roll phenom Cameron Payne, the 14th overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, is not playing serious minutes for the team that took him, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder, after all, have championship ambitions, and there are players on their roster who are more capable than Payne of contributing right now. And I understand why Kyle Anderson, the San Antonio Spurs’ versatile point-forward, a first round pick from a year ago who this Celtics fan had a bit of a draft day crush on, isn’t playing more than 12 minutes per contest. But, for the life of me, I cannot understand why the majority of the Celtics’ youth has been relegated to the deepest recesses of the bench, or worse, to the minor leagues.

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The Celtics’ ownership and front office know this team is not a contender, and I give them credit for being honest with themselves and us, the fans, about this. However, continuing to hand out valuable playing time to veteran journeymen instead of properly investing it in young talent can, and will, only damage this team’s future. And for what? At best, another first round playoff sweep at the hands of a real contender? Please, save us the embarrassment.

It’s time for the Celtics to get their priorities straight.

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