The Boston Celtics wanted to be very active in the NBA Draft. They were in talks with several teams to move up the draft boards after hoarding picks for the past two seasons. However, every deal went unnoticed and the Celtics came away disappointed despite their efforts. The team is hopeful free agency offers different results, but the early outlook is not good as several players do not have Boston on their list of meetings to take.
According to the Boston Herald, the Celtics are not going to pull any big names in free agency. The team has been planning on targeting everyone from Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge to DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe. With salary cap space to burn, they have the ability to acquire a few pieces of talent. However, ESPN.com is reporting Monroe and Jordan do not plan on meeting with the Celtics in free agency. Monroe is predicted to head to New York while Love will stay put in Cleveland. So where does that leave Boston moving forward?
According to the Herald, general manager Danny Ainge is trying to create a roster that is appealing now and down the road for top free agents. That appears to be easier said than done. Getting an elite big man would certainly help the cause, but no one is taking meetings with the Celtics. That could push the team to eye trades for players like Roy Hibbert or smaller free agents like Tyson Chandler and Paul Millsap. Ainge continues to stress the team is ready to make a big move if one emerges.
"I have two thoughts going into this," Ainge said, via the Boston Herald. "No. 1, try to get really good players, and 2, try to be responsible in our (salary) cap management. It's very big. We need to manage our payroll and our cap. We want to get better right now, but we can't put ourselves in a bad position where we can't make a move we really need to down the line. But we're ready to make a big move right now if one is available to us."
The Celtics have stars in Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas. They still own the rights to Brandon Bass and could keep him around to help with the lack of free agent attention. Ainge does not seem too concerned about the possibility of missing out on Love or Aldridge, two players Boston has been focused on. However, if the Celtics have a quiet offseason followed by another quiet offseason, fans will not be happy.
