Random Thoughts with 42 Days Until Training Camp

 I was sad to see that Danny Ainge's son Tanner lost his bid for the US Congress seat that he was running for.    I have to wonder how much Danny's signing Gordon Hayward away from the Utah Jazz had to do with the loss.  Danny is well known in the state from his college sports exploits and so the Ainge name is well known to the voters in Utah.


When Danny was out there for a fundraiser where he sat in a dunk booth and let the Utah residents take their best shot at him,  he said that he heard about the Hayward signing from everyone out there so it may have figured in, even though Tanner paid for billboards encouraging Hayward to stay in Utah during his free agency.  I'm sure that Danny would have loved to have his son win that seat, but not enough to let Hayward go elsewhere.

Gary Tanguay is at it again.  He's pushing for the Celtics to trade Jayson Tatum (and lots more) for Kyrie Irving.  Personally, I'd rather have Isaiah.  Yes, IT is only 5'9" and that has a whole different set of challenges for him and the team,  but I'd still rather have him than Kyrie.   The whole "He doesn't play defense" thing doesn't do it because they both had the same defensive rating last season.

The one thing that would push the needle in Isaiah's direction is his loyalty to the Celtics and his love for the team and the city.  He has done everything in his power to recruit other stars to join him in Boston.  Kyrie, on the other hand, has alienated teammates and has demanded out of his current situation.  No loyalty there.  And Kyrie will be a free agent at the end of this season.  I wouldn't depend on him signing long term in Boston. 

And Kyrie is injury prone, averaging just 68 games per season over the last 4 seasons while, on the other hand Isaiah has played through injuries and even the death of his sister.   There is the hip injury to worry about with IT, but he says it's fine and hopefully won't be an issue this season or in the future.  But the fact is, IT is a tough little guy and will play through bumps and bruises where I'm not so sure about Kyrie. 

Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger both dislike the Celtics.  I'm not sure why and what NBA team they actually like, but it's not the Celtics.    I'm not sure why CSNNE still has them reporting on the Celtics - maybe it's just to irritate fans to cause some controversy and get them to react.  For the most part,  if Tanguay is supporting a move for the Celtics, it's not because he thinks it will make them better.   I doubt that he even watches the team play.

The fact that of all the young players in the league that the Cavs could have their eyes on, they are intrigued with Jayson Tatum speaks to his potential.  If the Cavs are willing to give up Kyrie Irving for Tatum,  they must believe that he is going to be a star in the league.  That, in itself, should entice the Celtics to hang on to him.  I'm really hoping that Danny won't trade him, especially to help make the Cavaliers better.

I see a lot of articles getting excited about next year's draft already.  The Celtics have the Lakers pick if it is 2-5 and the Nets' pick outright plus their own.  The Lakers and Nets are going to be much better this season but then, so are a lot of other teams so who knows if those picks will top 5 or not but I know I'll be watching the records of both teams closely to see where those picks will land. 

I've seen the Celtics projections to fall anywhere from 48 wins to 57 wins.  I know the Celtics will be much better than last season.   With Theis and Zizic and Baynes,  they finally have some muscle to protect the paint.  They have added a legit go to scorer in Hayward and a very enticing rookie in Tatum.  Brown and Smart will be better, as will Rozier.  I can't wait to watch this team.  I'm going to project the Celtics record to be better than next year, even though many other teams are improved as well.

Can't wait for the season to start.   Just 42 days until players report to Training Camp.  Woo hoo! 

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