The Day Just Started And Danny Ainge Is Already Back On His Bullshit

We all knew today was going to be stressful as a Celtics fan given everything that has transpired over the last 48 hours. Ever Woj/Shams notification was going to send a shiver down our spines until we opened it and saw what actually happened, and with a ton of picks today that everyone knows the Celtics don’t want, you knew when you woke up today that they were going to be active. What we didn’t know is we would get our first Woj bomb before we could even rub the crust out of our eyes

Man how times can change. You all remember when just last week we got the great news that Aron Baynes was opting into his deal and staying in Boston. It’s no secret how important he is to what they do

and now? He’s the latest casualty of this whole mess. My guess is he opted in thinking the Celtics were going to look a certain way, disaster struck, and he politely asked to now be moved. I don’t blame him, he’s another guy that was very professional while he was here, gave the Celtics exactly what they needed and why shouldn’t they explore ways to get him into a different situation. There are also incentives for the Celtics to move Baynes

So this feels like a situation where both sides can benefit. If you’re a contending team you can definitely use Baynes, he’s a fantastic post defender, can kind of stretch the floor and knock down the occasional three, and he’s pretty damn cheap compared to other starting center salaries. Now whether they have to attach one of their picks in order to move him and not take any salary back is the big question, but Baynes can help a shit ton of teams.

The focus then shifts to if Ainge is working towards opening up max cap space, what is the plan? It would seem silly at this point to not renounce all the remaining free agents right? This is what Ainge is looking at right now

We know the rumors are out there about Clint Capela and D’Angelo Russell, there are more rumors about someone like Nikola Vucevic, but this whole thing seems really strange to me because if the play isn’t Russell or something like that, then what?.Just because they open up the money doesn’t mean they are going to land a max guy. Unless they have someone in mind in that 7-9 year range that they know they are getting, this is all sort of confusing.

Maybe they are planning on offering Malcolm Brogdon a big offer sheet and that’s why they may be comfortable moving on from Terry Rozier? That the plan isn’t to spend this money on one max guy but to spread it out and bring in more depth?

All I know is having to potentially say goodbye to Aron Baynes is sad, the dude was exactly the type of big this team has needed for years. Not a head turner by any stretch but a guy that filled his role and was awesome to root for. My hope is this is all just the first step in Ainge’s plan, but if anyone tells you they have any sort of idea as to what Ainge is up to they are flat out lying.

Today is going to be very, very stressful.