Its taken as recieved wisdom that a best overarching NBA strategy is to either be very good, or be terrible. That anything in between is purgatory, a realm of frustration and a paucity of meaningful games.
Ainge, with the trades of the summer, seems to be investing heavily on the "being terrible" strategy, with reciept of a slew of draft picks amplifying the benefits of terrible. For this strategy to make sense, the fan should hope that the Celtics lose as many games as possible over the next few years, especially this year given for what is projected to be a deep draft.
But what if the fan does not like such an approach? If he considers that being lousy doesn't guarantee a top 2 pick, and it isn't easy to be the worst when there are a half dozen other teams adopting the same approach. Moreover, a high draft pick doesn't guarantee a star, much less a franchise defining super star.
Imprtantly, tanking doesn't seem proper and right. Call it superstition, but tanking doesn't seem to work for the Celtics. Or call it karma, where tanking just seems wrong. Or call it unpleasantly disjointing, rooting for your team to be terrible.
And the last few games with a few wins feels good.
So who wishes to throw cleverness into the sewer, and wish for a winning season, regardless of draft consequences?
Ainge, with the trades of the summer, seems to be investing heavily on the "being terrible" strategy, with reciept of a slew of draft picks amplifying the benefits of terrible. For this strategy to make sense, the fan should hope that the Celtics lose as many games as possible over the next few years, especially this year given for what is projected to be a deep draft.
But what if the fan does not like such an approach? If he considers that being lousy doesn't guarantee a top 2 pick, and it isn't easy to be the worst when there are a half dozen other teams adopting the same approach. Moreover, a high draft pick doesn't guarantee a star, much less a franchise defining super star.
Imprtantly, tanking doesn't seem proper and right. Call it superstition, but tanking doesn't seem to work for the Celtics. Or call it karma, where tanking just seems wrong. Or call it unpleasantly disjointing, rooting for your team to be terrible.
And the last few games with a few wins feels good.
So who wishes to throw cleverness into the sewer, and wish for a winning season, regardless of draft consequences?