Merely hours after Nuggets' owner and president Josh Kroenke inexplicably made an off-hand comment about trading Nikola Jokic if the team got stuck above the second apron, Brad Stevens and the Celtics made his line look even more ridiculous by executing their second trade in less than 24 hours.
The Celtics, of course, ran into their own problems by the end of this season, with a payroll well above the second apron, and Jayson Tatum recovering from surgery on a torn Achilles. There were concerns about their ability to duck the apron, and people surmised they may have to blow up their team, trade their stars, or bleed assets to convince teams to take money off their hands.
But none of those fears came to fruition, and just days after the NBA Finals, the Celtics have already executed two separate deals, sending out veterans Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, ducking the second apron already, and absorbing three 2nd-round picks, Anfernee Simons, and Georges Niang for their troubles.
They didn't trade Jayson Tatum. They didn't trade Jaylen Brown. And they didn't even trade Derrick White. Some of those players may still be on the move, but at this point, it would be for strategic, team-building reasons, not to further shed salary in fear of the second apron.
Celtics situation almost exactly the hypothetical scenario of Kroenke
It's infuriating, and borderline insulting, that the Celtics were in almost the exact hypothetical scenario that Kroenke was describing on Tuesday, when unprompted, he said that would make him forced to contemplate trading Nikola Jokic.
But the Celtics were literally proving that wasn't the case in real time. They were operating above the second apron, suffered a brutal injury, and ducked out of it while keeping their three best players. Kroenke put his foot in his mouth and was clearly more brutally honest than he needed to be, further proving that a lot of this just comes down to money that the Kroenkes don't want to pay.
It's sad and it's pathetic, but it's not a shocker. The whole press conference was a debacle for Kroenke, and for him to be crying about the second apron while the Celtics navigated the situation with ease, is just the cherry on top of this poop sundae.
Nuggets are losing the offseason so far
Luckily, so far, all the Nuggets have done is lose the press conference. The Jon Wallace hire seems good, and he and Ben Tenzer still have time to salvage this offseason, win the margins, and have this team looking a lot better next season.
But this team has not given the fans much reason for confidence recently. They need to clean things up and start operating with a little more discipline. This is one of the most critical offseasons in the history of the team, and so far, it has looked like nothing short of a clown show.