I believe Danny Ainge spends his off time reading psychology and poker books.
How else would Ainge be able to make some of the comments he makes without having mind control over the media, or a great poker face to help you believe what he’s saying.
Ainge has spoken for weeks about the Celtics not tanking this season, and actually trying to win. He said that after trading away Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Ainge put the poker face on again and told SI.com that one of the reasons he insists the Celtics aren’t going to tank is because he doesn’t see “Andrew Wiggins or any other potential top draft pick as a franchise changer.”
“That’s harder than people recognize,” said Ainge of losing as a strategy. “It’s a really easy thing to conceptualize, and an easy thing to talk about and philosophize about. But it’s a hard thing to live through — for fans, for coaches, for owners, for sponsors, for our TV partners.”
It was the pain of losing that forced his coach of nine years, Doc Rivers, to relocate, with great irony, to the Clippers.
“Right,” said Ainge. “It’s a really hard thing to do.”
Without ever mentioning the name of the consensus No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins, Ainge made it clear that he does not believe the Kansas freshman carries the value of Kevin Durant, with whom he is often compared.
“If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was out there to change your franchise forever, or Tim Duncan was going to change your franchise for 15 years? That might be a different story,” said Ainge. “I don’t see that player out there.”
I guess we can all assume that Ainge will feel that way right up until the moment he finds out his ping pong ball landed him the number 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
If the Celtics are able to land Wiggins, I look forward to counting how many times Ainge refers to the Kansas freshman as a franchise changing player.
I promise you Ainge won’t let us down.