Grade Danny as the Celtics GM.

[Nerf DPOY]

One of his biggest and least talked about mistakes was trading a lottery pick for Sebastian Telfair. All in all, I'd still give him a B+, though.

  You have to consider that he also traded Raef for Theo in that trade and saved (IIRC) 20+ million in future salaries, not to mention paving the way for the KG trade.

Yeah, but he also traded for Raef. In my mind, that was the worst move he's ever made.

I like Ainge's approach of swinging for the fences in the draft and through trades. Sometimes you get Gerald Green or Fab Melo, and sometimes you get Al Jefferson. Roll the dice and don't feel bad if it doesn't work out.

 To an extent I think the GM is overrated by many, because a good or bad ownership can make or break your team often. Isaiah and Billy King get hammered across the board for their decisions, but without knowing what else was available to them behind the scenes, we do know that they had/have meddling owners who demanded results and wanted them yesterday. Impatience is a killer. I'm grateful we have Wyc & Co who will take on salary for assets, and who will tolerate laying low for a few years.

Oh yeah, I give Ainge a solid B+. An 88 with a star on his forehead.

[chenaren]

B

[PAOBoston]

He's a top 5 GM in my book and I think C's fans are extremely fortunate to have him. When you look at the landscape of the league, we're truly blessed to have both great owners and a smart GM. That's why I have faith we'll be back soon to contention. They know what they are doing.

Ainge came in 2003. He tore the team apart and within 5 years he brought a championship and 5 years of legit contention. You can argue some of his drafts haven't panned out (Giddens, Melo, etc) but you also have to factor in the position he's been drafting (late teens/20's).

As for trades, I supported the Perkins deal. Ainge bet on Shaq and that gamble didn't work. But that team wasn't going to go anywhere without a legitimate backup for Pierce who was being run into the ground. And looking back at it, Ainge won that trade Green is a much better player than Perkins. Also, the PP/KG deal to BRK might be the heist of the century if it pans out like we hope it does.

Overall, people don't like him because sometimes he's cold blooded. But that's how the game is played. He's a good GM in my book and I'm keen to see what he does with another potential lottery pick this year and cap space.

[tarheelsxxiii]

First and foremost, I am admitting that I am an Antoine "apologist". (Ainge apologists, go somewhere else please).

I can not give a grade on Ainge's GM work....I can only offer my grade on the GM results.

My grade is an A- minus.

How it got the end results is a different grade.....my personal grade on how Danny's work got to the results are, in my personal perspective, not reliant on Danny's GM work performance, but relied on 2 distinct advantages that Danny possessed which not many other GM's could obtain or had at the time.

1) Ainge was a former Celtic.
2) Ainge was a former teammate to Kevin McHale.

There is no debate on the results.....we accomplished #17. Results speak for themselves.

We most likely could have had #18, 19 maybe 20.......(if no KG leg injury, no Perk knee injury).

At any rate, there are people who don't care about the "how" or the "why", they just care about the "ends"/"results". I am not one of those people. I do care about the why and the how. I am not saying Danny "cheated", he had distinct advantages that other GMs did not......I seriously doubt McHale could have sold Minny owner on that package for KG to any other franchise especially to another Western Conference fanchise......that Al Jefferson trade doesn't go through if it wasn't for that back history....IMO.

Strongly agree here, with Yoki to follow, and MaxAMillion. I also care why he succeeded... and while I'm happy he did, and enjoyed it as much as the next guy, it does not give me any hope for the future (related to Yoki's post).

I have to add that I assure you that no one here would appreciate his propensity to dangle players at trade deadlines (or at all times, in some cases). If your job was openly, constantly in jeopardy, I doubt you'd be a happy camper. For that, I think he's awful. For other reasons, I think he's average (and benefited from gifts). As Yoki pointed out, the next few years will be telling. I don't think we can make an accurate estimate until the rebuild takes shape.

[manl_lui]

He's a top 5 GM in my book and I think C's fans are extremely fortunate to have him. When you look at the landscape of the league, we're truly blessed to have both great owners and a smart GM. That's why I have faith we'll be back soon to contention. They know what they are doing.

Ainge came in 2003. He tore the team apart and within 5 years he brought a championship and 5 years of legit contention. You can argue some of his drafts haven't panned out (Giddens, Melo, etc) but you also have to factor in the position he's been drafting (late teens/20's).

As for trades, I supported the Perkins deal. Ainge bet on Shaq and that gamble didn't work. But that team wasn't going to go anywhere without a legitimate backup for Pierce who was being run into the ground. And looking back at it, Ainge won that trade Green is a much better player than Perkins. Also, the PP/KG deal to BRK might be the heist of the century if it pans out like we hope it does.

Overall, people don't like him because sometimes he's cold blooded. But that's how the game is played. He's a good GM in my book and I'm keen to see what he does with another potential lottery pick this year and cap space.

TP for you and perfectly summarized. I also think your statement of "people do not like him is because he is cold blooded" is a BIG understatement

People HATE him because he is cold blooded and will pull the trigger when necessary. The Perk trade, despite Green being the better player, had everyone upset. The KG/PP trade also ticked some people off because everyone wanted PP to retire a Celtic. As you said, Danny came in during 03, and in 5 years, bought a chip. Let's hope that is the same case here.