Danny Ainge knows what Red Auerbach would have done: grabbed everything, given up nothing and never stopped winning. That was the Celtics’ way from the 1950 hiring of Auerbach to the 1990s, when two of the worst tragedies in NBA history took down what could have been another decade of Boston glory.

Ainge is the boss now, president of basketball operations for the most decorated franchise in NBA history. And in the wake of the disassembly of his lone championship-winning core, Ainge now has enough assets to make even Auerbach blush.

So we’re obsessed with coming up with ways to trade the future for a few more wins now. Like we didn’t learn from Red. Like Ainge didn’t learn from Red.

@AminESPN tell me why this isn't reasonable? Might not even need either nets pick if Detroit likes the '19 picks and wants to blow it up pic.twitter.com/EYUTKvmbWg — Nba Discussion (@NBAdiscussion0) February 22, 2017

The NBA trade deadline hits at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, and don’t be surprised if the Celtics still own the Nets’ 2017 and 2018 first-round picks. Don’t be surprised if they haven’t given up Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart or Terry Rozier. Maybe they’ll make a move, sure, but it won’t be one to jeopardize the future. And to be clear, we’re not talking about 2020. We’re talking about 2025, 2030. The Celtics are back in the business of sustained success after 25 years away.

Still, Ainge does face the pressure to match LeBron James’ Cavaliers, to keep pace with the Raptors and Wizards and, at the least, to win a playoff series for the first time since 2012. He’s got job security most general managers can only dream about, but fans are impatient, and with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference as we enter the second half, the Celtics have higher expectations than in recent years.

Here are four reasons they should not do anything rash, be it for Paul George or Jimmy Butler or Danilo Gallinari or even Jahlil Okafor.

1. Chemistry is so fickle.

Isaiah Thomas is averaging 29.9 points and 6.3 assists a game. Does that happen with George or Butler on the roster? Thomas is the kind of player who needs the ball in his hands, and that works with this configuration of the roster because he’s playing alongside guys who operate well without it. Add another star, and Thomas’ offensive production dives back to where it has been in the past while his defense remains bad.

Furthermore, the notion that the Celtics need to add a rebounder is a bit of a mirage. Yes, they’re one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA, but that’s not as related to their defensive struggles as one might think. As CBS Sports thoroughly broke down recently, Boston actually has an excellent defensive lineup when Al Horford and Amir Johnson — two versatile defensive big men who don’t rebound particularly well for their positions — are on the court and Thomas isn’t.

+ Nets 2017 pick, who says no? pic.twitter.com/oKTERTQotD — Joe Cool (@chellomini) February 23, 2017

Rebounding is a virtue until it isn’t. Too many players spend too much time chasing rebounds and not enough on help defense or boxing out away from the play so that a teammate can grab the ball. Horford’s teams have always been bad at rebounding and great at defense with him on the court. Making him a true power forward next to a rebound-hoarding center such as Nikola Vucevic or Andre Drummond would negate his switching ability and nearly unmatched versatility at the five.

2. Free agency is going to be ripe.

Johnson is the Celtics’ only real rotation player hitting free agency this summer, yet they will have more than $40 million to spend on free agents. Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward and maybe even Kevin Durant (if things don’t work out with the Warriors) all are on the table here.

So we’re clear, the Celtics could potentially take nine of the top 10 players from an elite East team, add the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and then go sign Blake Griffin and still have room for a rotation-caliber shooter or something else. Or they could make a trade that costs them that pick and probably at least one of the other good young players on the roster, while also hamstringing their ability on the free agency market so that they have to do some maneuvering to afford a maximum contract at all.

Now, free agency is a dangerous game. If Durant, Griffin and Hayward all sign with their current teams, the options are not so great. But the Celtics will be near the top of any free agent’s list, and free agents don’t cost anything but money.

3. They still don’t fully know what they have.

Obviously, the Nets pick’s value only will be clear after the draft lottery, but that might be a bad thing considering right now it has the best odds at the No. 1 pick.

The more important uncertainties come with the young players. Jaylen Brown has shown flashes of being a very good future starter. Terry Rozier has the organization drooling over his athleticism. Marcus Smart may never be much as a shooter and scorer but increasingly does everything else well.

Celtics gets Paul George; pacers gets jahlil okafor, tyler zeller, jae crowder And the pick (vía nets); sixers get Terry rozier Why not? pic.twitter.com/b8JuFIlAu3 — Nelson G. Alvarado (@TheGabof) February 23, 2017

If Thomas isn’t good enough to be the best scorer on a championship-winning team, the Celtics owe it to themselves to try to find someone who is.

4. The long play looks so tempting.

Yes, everyone talks about the Nets’ next two first-rounders. But the Celtics also own their own picks starting next year, plus protected first-rounders from the Clippers and Grizzlies in 2019 and a flurry of second-rounders.

Then there’s all the young talent already on the roster — Horford is the only long-term piece over the age of 27, so everyone kind of counts. There’s the aforementioned salary cap space, plus the fact that Jae Crowder is on perhaps the best bargain-bin contract in the NBA all the way through 2020.

When Auerbach drafted Len Bias and later Reggie Lewis to teams that already had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Ainge, he wasn’t trying to bolster his bench. He was building out the next generation of Celtics greats, trying to preserve his success the way he had in the post-Bill Russell era with Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White or into the 1980s with Bird and more.

Ainge now has a shot to do that. He’s 57. His coach, Brad Stevens, is 40. With a few smart draft selections and continued shrewd cap management, the Celtics could be good for another dozen years without even making another major trade.

Of course, the Cavaliers had a similar construct on the table when LeBron James rejoined in 2014. They could have avoided the Kevin Love trade and hoped James, Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins gave them a 10-year cycle of star power to stay at the top of the league. James’ presence gave Cleveland immediacy, though, because there was no way Wiggins or Irving would be as good as him.

The Celtics don’t have a LeBron James. But they might be able to find one — or at least a handful of guys good enough to take his mantle as supreme leaders of the Eastern Conference, with time.

Of course, these Celtics don’t have a Larry Bird, either. That makes waiting difficult. A franchise with 17 championships isn’t targeting a conference finals. But exercising some patience might be the real path to once again filling those rafters.