Don’t expect Trader Danny to make a move just to shake things up, even with the nickname.
Speaking with the Boston Globe, Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge revealed that while a trade may indeed end up happening before the February 6 deadline, it would be a deal for improving the team regardless of the recent record.
Ainge made this qualification in response to restlessness surrounding the team’s recent three-game skid in the midst of a busy January, with fans clamoring for change on social media platforms.
While the Globe’s Gary Washburn reports there is a consensus among NBA Executives that the team needs to add a rim protector to truly get in the mix for the NBA Finals, the team’s general manager is resistant to the idea of making a reactive, emotional deal in response to the recent losses.
“I don’t think it’s time to react,” Ainge said. “It’s been a rough stretch but I’m not worried about that.”
Danny Ainge to the Globe: “I don’t think I’m looking at any short-term urgency to trade away all my young assets to get some veteran player,” he said. “But we’re looking. We’ll have conversations before trade deadline like we do every year." #Celtics
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) January 11, 2020
“There’s a lot of really good players in the NBA, so there’s always players that you can potentially get,” Danny explained, elaborating on his trade deadline philosophy.
“But I don’t go into a trade deadline with any more stress or pressure that I have to do something to get better. I don’t see it like that. If a deal is there that we like, we do it. If there’s no deals that we like, we don’t do it.”
The 16-year Celtics executive dismissed the idea of finding a single player who might push Boston into clear contention, however.
“That kind of terminology is used a lot in the NBA and I think there’s a lot of teams one piece away if it’s the right piece, if you get Michael Jordan. But I don’t know even what that means, one piece away, it’s all depending upon the piece. Those kind of game-changing pieces are tough to get and tough to trade for, we all know that in our league.”
He also made it clear he wouldn’t be shipping out young players in exchange for short-term rentals, contradicting reporting that has connected Boston to players who could be free agents this summer, like the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Danilo Gallinari.
“I don’t think I’m looking at any short-term urgency to trade away all my young assets to get some veteran player,” Ainge offered. “But we’re looking. We’ll have conversations before trade deadline like we do every year.”
“We like our players. I like all the guys on our team right now,” he added.
“We’re excited about them and each one of them have a bright future. But sometimes you tweak your roster for a better fit, better balance. But at the same time you can also mess your roster up by making changes, too, because these guys get along and play hard together and they like each other and they know our system.”
Boston’s president of basketball operations stressed the normalcy of dropping several games in a row for most NBA teams at this time of year, and reiterated that he wouldn’t be making moves just to calm down the fanbase.
“Change for the sake of change is not what I’m looking for. Change for the sake of progress is what we’re always looking for,” said Ainge.
“We’re not going to give up $19 million of one of our good players to have somebody for three months. That ain’t gonna happen.”
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