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Boston Celtics Better Off Now or for the Future?

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON - MAY 15: Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) chest bump after Brown tied the game at 72-72 during the third quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Washington Wizards in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals at TD Garden in Boston on May 15, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - MAY 15: Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) chest bump after Brown tied the game at 72-72 during the third quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Washington Wizards in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals at TD Garden in Boston on May 15, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Even if the blockbuster trade makes the Boston Celtics better right now, that may not have been Danny Ainge’s motivation

When you make the kind of blockbuster trade for a superstar like the Boston Celtics just pulled off, it is almost exclusively as a win now move. The Celtics moved one of the most valuable assets in the league in the Nets pick, along with a promising young big and two starters.

There is a great case that this did make the Celtics better right now. A lot of that really depends on how well Isaiah Thomas‘ hip recovers, and if he is able to repeat the way he played last season. Either way, Kyrie Irving is a supreme talent, and playing him with Gordon Hayward and Al Horford along with incredibly young depth creates a team that is ready to win now.

Taking that into account, it is possible that Ainge made this move not for this coming season, but for the foreseeable future following that. This season, there could be a lot more turmoil than is expected. There will be a transition period for such a new team, and this roster will not be optimized until Brad Stevens has enough time to figure out how to make them work together.

There is no doubt that losing the Nets pick is a big blow to the future of this team. that being said, the future core of this roster is now materializing, and there is a remarkable young core that is ready to grow together, ending this run of crazy roster turnovers.

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Instead of thinking about how this team can be their best this coming season, Ainge has set this team up to be much better when Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are entering their prime.

Those two are the highest touted prospects drafted since the rebuild, and Ainge has managed to assemble a team that is ready to contend now, but will be much better off a few years down the line when the top talent on the team is ready to play together.

Even if Thomas has more great years in him, he will almost certainly be declining once Brown and Tatum are entering their prime. The same could be said of other potential targets passed on by the Celtics. Irving is at least two years younger than all the superstars that were moved this season, and it is no fluke because that means he will be in his prime at the same time as Brown, Tatum and Hayward, who is just one year older than Irving.

There is still little clarity with the front court. Obviously, Horford is too old to be a part of this next core. He will be here as this current team attempts to contend, but he will not be the top player he is when Brown and Tatum are ready to take over.

The Celtics do have a lot of young bigs that could be a part of that. There is Geurschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis who could all prove to be that caliber of player, and that will complete the future five of this team.

The Celtics have gone though crazy roster turnovers each year in this rebuild. Now, that should be stopping. The core four of Irving, Marcus Smart. Hayward, Tatum and Brown should be set in stone as the future of this team, and that is where the real potential of this trade is found.

It is remarkable how Ainge has balanced winning with preparing for the future, and he has once again done that with the blockbuster trade that everyone has been clamoring for.

There are a lot of things about this deal that could be criticized, and a lot of it has to do with how much better Irving is than Thomas right now. No matter how close they may be, the gap will get bigger and bigger each season.

Ainge may not have been thinking about improving this current team at all. His main focus really could have been finding the point guard that will be able to play with the best talent on this team in Hayward, Smart, Brown and Tatum for the longest amount of time.

Ainge has done a great job of extending the championship window of the core of his team, and it could be by a significant margin at this point.

There is a lot that can still change. Players need to agree to come back and these young guys cannot bust. That being said, this is a future core that we should be able to have confidence will stay around.

One of the best parts will also be that there is less position clutter. The Celtics needed that kind of talent at the guard position a lot more than they needed it at the wing with Brown, Tatum and Hayward all there.

Trading for Paul George or Jimmy Butler would have created more clutter, and more complications when Brown and Tatum are ready to take on the kind of role Butler or George will play right now.

Next: Are the Celtics Asking Too Much From Stevens?

The Celtics are at a fascinating place with just four players returning from last season. There may be a case that this season only, the Celtics would have been better off without the trade. For the future that will also be centered around Brown and Tatum, the Celtics are clearly in a better position after the deal.

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