Elton Played Chess, Ainge Played Checkers
This NBA offseason has been one of the craziest ones in the history of the league, if not the craziest. The Entire Eastern Conference shifted and the new-look Sixers are now one of the top 3 teams in the NBA according to Bleacher Report.
The Celtics, on the other hand, lost some major parts that could shift the way fans view this rivalry over the next couple of years.
When putting it into perspective, the Fultz trade was one of the worst things that could have happened for the Sixers’ franchise, but now that the biggest blur in recent NBA history is in the past, it is time to look at what Elton did in his short time as the GM of the Sixers compared to what Ainge did to set the Celtics up for the future.
Last year Elton pulled off some of the biggest moves that completely shook the Sixers’ fanbase and roster. He traded Covington and Saric for Butler and Patton. Later at the last minute before the trade deadline after a loss to the Raptors, Elton acquired Mike Scott, Tobias Harris, and Boban Marjanovic. By doing that, Elton traded away rookie Landry Shamet and future picks that could potentially come back and haunt the team if they fail to bring together a core for the next few years. Ainge made no moves last year at the trade deadline, but he was very active this offseason.
Before NBA free agency officially kicked off, there was speculation and almost a guarantee that Kyrie was gone and Kemba was going to Boston. Boston did indeed ended up winning the Kemba sweepstakes but at the cost of Kyrie and even Al Horford leaving. They also signed Enes Kanter who they said was a top priority for them and Horford, as many knows, ended up on the Sixers.
During the draft night it seems as though Ainge got the upper hand on Brand by executing a trade that landed Carsen Edwards who many think will haunt the Sixers for years.
After the free-agent frenzy dust settled, besides the Clippers and Nets, it seems as though the Sixers had the most success signing players (not acquiring through trade). Horford and Tobias are going to be huge for the team. Horford was really the only player who was able to stop Embiid consistently throughout his career and now with Horford next to him, Joel can learn so much from one of the most mature players on and off the court.
Ainge lost his most valuable piece in Horford and looks at Kanter to be a reliable replacement. Kanter is nowhere near the defensive anchor Horford was, or the leader that Al was. From the Celtics claiming this was their “Plan A” to sign these players makes the league think that they have something else up their sleeve, but they failed in improving the team while Elton improved the bench tremendously and gives the Sixers a chance to be on the winning side of the rivalry again.
The rivalry has been one-sided over the past few years, heartbreaking losses with minimal wins, and with the Elton Brand era in full effect, the Sixers can finally beat Boston. Ainge showed his hand with the Anthony Davis trade and that could cause some stir in the locker room along with Jaylen Brown not panning out to be the player they thought he would be, and Hayward being only a shadow of the player they thought they signed.
If Tatum does not improve his scoring, (Ben Simmons has more career 30+ point games) then the entire organization may need to look to do a full overhaul while Elton put the Sixers in contention to win a title for at least the next 3 seasons as a top tier team.
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