I think this is a bit extreme on the pessimism front. It's really hard to see a lot of superior potential free agent destinations that have space available. Sure, the Warriors could sell of their bench and free up space for Durant, and if they want to go that route, all bets are off, but outside of them, and the possibility he stays in OKC, where are these superior destinations?
The Heat, maybe, but they'd have to walk away from a lot of their current talent, including Wade and Whiteside, to make it work.
The Lakers have space, tons of space, but no talent, ditto the Sixers (but maybe a little more talent).
The Mavs either have an aging core and could maybe squeeze out the space or no core and lots of cap space. They do have a great coach.
The Wizards can keep Beal and sign a max player. But, they aren't as good as the Celtics and have less money to spend, a lesser front office, a lesser coach, and aren't that much warmer or fun.
The Rockets have space, but are a complete mess.
Portland has space and is another potentially attractive destination. I've got nothing bad to say here.
Charlotte is another interesting young team with space, although they'd have to renounce Al and Batum to do it.
Detroit could free up space, is an interesting young team, but it's Detroit.
Brooklyn has money but no talent.
Memphis has money but is old and declining.
The Hawks can spend if they don't keep Horford, but their upside is obviously capped because any gain is over-Horford.
The Jazz, Pacers, and Knicks, Nuggets, Magic, T-Wolves, Suns, and Bucks can all squeeze out enough space, mostly without overly damaging their current rosters, but it's hard to see any of them being one player away. The Jazz and Bucks probably have the best pitch at that. The Suns could've been interesting, but you'd have to take a lot on faith after how they collapsed because of injuries this year.
The few remaining teams don't have sufficient cap space, although they might be able to manufacture it or construct a sign and trade.
This brings us back to the Celtics. The Celtics have tons of space, almost as much as anyone. They can create more without doing too much damage to their long term core. They were quite good this year. They have a great young coach, the players seem happy, they have a GM who has shown he knows how to build and maintain a contender, great fans, and ownership that will spend. They are relatively young. They have tons of trade assets to acquire a second star player, if any are available, and can afford to overpay out of those assets without mortgaging the future if it helps attract a above-max talent like Durant. They are an historic franchise (won't matter to many, but might to someone).
Earlier in this thread, someone asked those of us talking about being a great free agent destination to name specific players. It's a bit hard to do that, since it's not clear who will stay with their current teams. That said, I can see Boston being attractive for tier-A guys like Durant and Horford. I can see it being attractive for tier-B guys like DeRozan, Whiteside, and Batum. Basically, I think Boston is an ideal place for any free agent that isn't getting paid more to stay put, and is probably the best possible option for most of these guys. So, I want to turn that question around. Who are these other teams that are vastly more desirable than Boston.
I understand that ordinarily a smattering of Texas, Florida, and LA-based teams would easily fit that bill. But, this year, right now, I just don't see it. We may never fully know, and we won't even be able to pretend we know anything for a few more months at least, but I think that people are overly concerned about how Boston was perceived and not paying enough attention to how it currently is both positioned and perceived. Ainge has done a masterful job of making Boston as desirable a FA destination as might be possible. Whether that pans out is a shot in the dark at this point.
