Danny Ainge: ‘This offseason is bigger, my expectations are high’

3:31 PM ET

WALTHAM, Mass. — Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge acknowledged the need for patience and a little bit of luck during the rebuilding process, but as the Celtics embark on what could be a franchise-altering offseason, Ainge is clearly hopeful that long-awaited fireworks will fill the Boston sky this summer.

“We look forward to every offseason. This offseason is bigger,” Ainge said Wednesday during an end-of-season news conference at the team’s training facility. “My expectations are high this offseason. And yet I also know that it takes good fortune. We need the pingpong balls to bounce our way [at the draft lottery on May 17] to give us the best opportunity. Whether we use that pick or whether we trade that pick, and in free agency, we have opportunities. And that’s all we have.

“We have no guarantees of great things happening. We just have a lot of hope. And so we have a lot of work ahead of us, and we have to have plan A through Z. Usually, it’s more A through G, but we have A through Z this year just to have an opportunity to upgrade our team.”

The Celtics vaulted to 48 wins this season and competed for a top spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs before injuries nibbled at the team late in the year, causing Boston to slip to the fifth seed and contributing to a first-round playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks. It’s the second straight …

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