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Tim BontempsESPN
Boston Celtics basketball operations president Danny Ainge said the thought behind the moves the team made before Thursday’s NBA negotiation deadline – and specifically the acquisition of Evan Fournier in a deal with the Orlando Magic – it was to give a reason to a team you didn’t trust. have some optimism.
“I speak with [coach Brad Stevens] especially every day. I talk to the players. I’m around the team, in the locker rooms, and I can only feel a sense of discouragement and frustration, as would any team that has the feeling of playing below what they can play, “Ainge said Friday morning.” it’s not an incident or a personality, but there’s a difference when things go really well and when they don’t.
“But when you don’t live up to your expectations, you take the opportunity of discouragement and frustration, and I think that happens to all the teams. It’s happened to all the teams I’ve been associated with. We put our team and we have team meetings and movie sessions and we do a little running, but we are not able to keep it.
“I just hope that by adding another veteran player who is a versatile shooter with size and versatility, that just gives us a shake-up.”
The Celtics, who are in Milwaukee to play the Bucks Friday night, are certainly a team in need of a shake-up. Boston is just 21-23 of the season and ranks eighth in the Eastern Conference standings – well below the standard Boston has set in recent seasons, when it was one of the top finishers in the Eastern Conference. 4 first places and has reached the finals of the Eastern Conference three of the last four years.
This year’s group, however, has never clicked nearly the same way after losing Gordon Hayward as a free agent, a play that came after Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Marcus Morris, leaving the previous season for nothing. . Hayward’s departure, however, left Boston with a $ 28 million trade exception, which the Celtics used to land Fournier’s Magic for Jeff Teague and a couple of second-round picks.
Fournier, 28, averages 19.7 points per game this season and will give the Celtics another long, versatile offensive player who should fit in well with Stevens ’system. And while Fournier has an expiring contract, Ainge said he hopes the shooter will be with the Celtics for a long time.
When Ainge was asked if the Celtics are now able to compete with teams at the top of the conference, such as the Milwaukee, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, he said he wasn’t sure. But he said it wasn’t the only reason to take a step like this.
“I also feel an obligation of more than just [that]”Ainge said.” We deal with people here. And I think we’re trying to improve all the time – every commercial term, every low season. And I felt there was an opportunity. And we felt there was more than one opportunity, but some didn’t work.
“But with Evan in particular, I thought this opportunity was unique. And to add a player of his caliber, we’ve often talked about shooting with size, here’s a 6-7 kid who’s a good shooter, he can play , can handle the ball.Only another creator for us.And a very consistent player.And we are pleased to add it.I think it is a good use of our [trade exception]”Boston, which also came out of the luxury tax by sending center-back Daniel Theis to the Chicago Bulls in a separate deal, has disappointed at both ends of this season, with Ainge highlighting the team’s fall. fourth in defense last season in the 24th this season as a particular source of disappointment.And with the Celtics hovering around the fringe of the Eastern playoffs, Ainge decided it was time to shake up the list, hoping Boston would return to something closer to the level it used to play in.
“This is a team I’ve put together. I’m responsible for it. I think you’ve talked about patience; I think I’m very, very patient. I’ve been there a long time. I think there’s time to react too much, but I didn’t feel pressure. to do any of these things.I think it’s a deal I would have made at any time in the last few years, probably with this opportunity.But I guess the biggest pressure is that I just want our players to feel hope, and I want them to our coach feels hopeful, and I feel a certain inner discouragement with our guys. So that was one of the reasons we did something instead of waiting along the way. “