Danny Ainge feels good about these Celtics and keeping Kyrie Irving

Over the last few preseasons, any media appearance by Danny Ainge has served as a major occasion with the backdrop of a recent roster overhaul or looming trade speculation. For Ainge’s first appearance of the 2018-19 season on Wednesday at the Auerbach Center, things took on a different tone.

Trade chatter around the likes of Jimmy Butler was non-existent. No one else on this roster is going anywhere during camp either. The Celtics know who they are this year. Ainge has amassed a powerhouse and he’s eager to see what they capable of as they start this campaign at full strength.

“I feel good about our roster,” Ainge declared. “Like I just said, we have a lot of depth, guys that can fill in and we showed the depth that we had last year and it could be even better this year. We have a deep roster and I think we’re ready for anything.”

With Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving participating fully in training camp over the first two days, Ainge isn’t even giving a second thought of integrating them back into the lineup.

“Just in case you didn’t know, those guys are really good,” he said. “Least of our worries. Obviously, health is always an issue with all our players but those guys look great. They’ve worked hard in the offseason on their rehab.”

While the NBA rumor mill has been swirling with speculation about Irving for much of the summer, Ainge signaled a sense of ease with where the Celtics stand overall and with Irving’s status heading into his pending unrestricted free agency next summer. Irving’s done plenty to throw cold water on fans’ worries over the last couple days with his comments, and those remarks aren’t considered out of the ordinary for Ainge.

“I don’t think that’s ever a change of tune,” Ainge said of Irving’s recent comments about Boston. “I mean, I’ve heard him, I’ve talked to Kyrie a lot -- maybe he’s changed his tune with you, but he has been very positive from the day he got here. I talk to Kyrie all the time and his representation. I think Kyrie is very, very happy here in Boston. Always has been. And I think that we’ll hopefully make it a place that he’ll want to stay for much longer when the season ends.”

While Irving’s looming free agency will be tabled once the season starts, the addition of him and a healthy Hayward clearly puts the Celtics on a different tier in the Eastern Conference than the rest of the competition and that puts a little extra pressure on Brad Stevens and company on a nightly basis.

“It’s a different mindset,” Ainge acknowledged of being East favorites. “I think it’s easier to play as an underdog and with lower expectations and I think it’s more challenging because of what you’re going to face. As a favorite and as a team that was in the final four last year, we’re going to be a team that people are gunning for more. We’re going to see the best that our opponents have. And I think our players know that, logically, but sometimes you have to go through that to see that we’re seeing the best that everybody has. That’s what they just have to go through.”

Boston surprised the rest of the league last year by making a shorthanded run to the East Finals, but Ainge isn’t convinced that this group will have a cakewalk back to that spot in 2019 either, even with the internal improvements this team has made. The additions of Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, along with the potential for internal improvement amongst emerging stars in Philadelphia and Milwaukee has Ainge on watch for what the rest of the East has in store for the Celtics this year.

“I think that last year we were fortunate, I thought,” he said. “Milwaukee was a great test, but Washington has been a really tough team for us, seven games the year before. We had to play great to win that series and we didn’t have to play them last year. Toronto gave us trouble in the regular season. The last couple years, we didn’t face them in the playoffs. But we know they still exist and they’re good. With Kawhi, who knows if they’ll be better? But he’s a fantastic player. And there’s always a team that surprises you, too. Last year Indiana really started coming into their own. And so the East is very respectable and I think it’s very balanced at the top.”

The challenges will grow greater for the Celtics down the line in trying to keep the core together. Irving is set for a new max deal. Horford could opt out. Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris and Daniel Theis will all be free agents and all of them certainly won’t be back, which will challenge the C’s from a depth standpoint. However, those issues are all looming a year away. For now, everyone is here and committed to the cause for at least one more season and Ainge is ready to enjoy the unique opportunity that this group has.

“It’s a great feeling,” Ainge said of the team’s outlook. “You know you’re not going to win them all. At the same time, you have a little room for error, too. You don’t have to be perfect in order to win. That’s a much worse feeling, when you can’t make any mistakes and still win.”