Props to Danny Ainge

[GreenlyGreeny]

He deserves some credit, but he clearly wasn't the architect of this team. His moves over the last 2 years showed he didn't fully understand what he had. He was more like the guy who bought the lumber.

This is an awesome team, but there was only one path to success, and that was a full commitment to defense on one end and better ball movement on the other. Tatum and Brown are awesome, but they aren't elite offensive decision makers yet. They are unique because they are big time scorers who are also capable of intense defense. There are less than 10 guys like that in the league.

Ainge just wanted to add talent. Kemba and Fournier were never going to be part of an air tight defensive scheme. Tatum and Brown can't be championship level great on offense alone.

Stevens and Udoka took what Ainge left them and got them to where they had to be.

Some credit??  He deserves a ton of credit. I mean, he drafted the core of Smart, Brown, Tatum, Timelord. Also drafted Pritchard and Grant. Danny was the one that initially brought in Horford and Theis as well. He also hired Brad and brought him into the organization. People need to give Danny his credit for this team, he was the architect.

Those are all parts. Ainge collected parts. He gets credit for getting almost all of the parts of the team we have now. What he didn't get to was how to assemble what he had into a group that could win a title.

We know he didn't get it because several of the last moves he made undercut the core identity that we are seeing now.

You could take this same group now, drop a couple of mediocre defenders and maybe an iso scorer/ball stopper or two into the rotation, and we win 45 games.

Yeah, that’s not Danny’s job to make the pieces work well together, that would be the coach. Also, what are the moves that he made that undercut the core identity of the team?

Danny clearly forced poor defensive guards onto CBS like IT, Kyrie, Kemba and Fournier. Unlike Danny, clearly Brad and Ime had the foresight and basketball mind to see that Smart as our PG could produce Smart the defensive player of the year and the best team defense in well over a decade.

Time and time again, Danny hampered Brad with players that Brad did not really want because Danny clamored for “shooters.” Brad realized there’s a lot more to the game than shooting.

This team is Brad’s and Ime’s team.

Thanks for drafting Smart, JB, JT and Timelord, but credit goes to Stevens and Ime for making them into the world-class defenders they are today.

[gouki88]

Did Danny hire Ime? Did Danny re-sign Horford or let him walk? Did Danny trade Theis to Chicago or trade for Theis from Houston?

Danny forced a woeful bench, clearly the team Brad did not want, onto Brad last year and that’s why we lost 4-1 to the Nets.

Brad has since made changes that have us championship-bound.

If someone wants to give Danny props, he’s now an executive for the Utah Jazz, so there will be plenty of lovers of the Danny love on various Jazz boards…

It's pretty crazy that you can be so wilfully ignorant of the context of Brad in the front office.

Brad hired the right guy to replace him. Then he took that absurd bench/Kemba albatross and turned us around from pretenders into contenders.

Danny deserves some credit, but Brad turned this crew from pretenders into contenders in less than a year. He is one of the finest basketball minds around and the props belong with him and Ime, not Danny. In fact, in one season as our GM Brad is going to accomplish the same feat that Danny achieved in 18 years: A title.

It's genuinely delusional that you think Danny didn't contribute to that Kemba trade.

It’s genuinely delusional that you think a trade Danny could have made at the 2021 deadline was passed over because Danny wanted to do the trade in the off-season after handing the reigns to Brad.

Danny had absolutely nothing to do with the Kemba trade. For crying out loud, Danny’s the schmuck who panicked when Kyrie left and chose Kemba over re-signing Horford. If Danny was some basketball savant, like some say, he’d have seen that Smart could be the PG we needed without forcing IT, Kyrie and Kemba on CBS.

And Danny is responsible for the only reason we have any chance at a title in the next couple of years. That would be Jayson Tatum. Who Danny Ainge was able to get AND squeeze out an additional pick in the process.

Our scouting staff deserves credit, too. You know, folks like Mike Zarren, the real brains behind the former Danny operation…

Here’s what Danny is: A guy who got us one title in 18 years. Not good enough for the Celtics. Check out my signature for what we worship in Boston. Utah may be happy with one title in 18 years, but not us.

Just hilarious. Almost as funny as the trade posts.

If you want to continue down this path of alternate reality, please don't let me stop you

[Kiorrik]

Did Danny hire Ime? Did Danny re-sign Horford or let him walk? Did Danny trade Theis to Chicago or trade for Theis from Houston?

Danny forced a woeful bench, clearly the team Brad did not want, onto Brad last year and that’s why we lost 4-1 to the Nets.

Brad has since made changes that have us championship-bound.

If someone wants to give Danny props, he’s now an executive for the Utah Jazz, so there will be plenty of lovers of the Danny love on various Jazz boards…

It's pretty crazy that you can be so wilfully ignorant of the context of Brad in the front office.

Brad hired the right guy to replace him. Then he took that absurd bench/Kemba albatross and turned us around from pretenders into contenders.

Danny deserves some credit, but Brad turned this crew from pretenders into contenders in less than a year. He is one of the finest basketball minds around and the props belong with him and Ime, not Danny. In fact, in one season as our GM Brad is going to accomplish the same feat that Danny achieved in 18 years: A title.

It's genuinely delusional that you think Danny didn't contribute to that Kemba trade.

It’s genuinely delusional that you think a trade Danny could have made at the 2021 deadline was passed over because Danny wanted to do the trade in the off-season after handing the reigns to Brad.

Danny had absolutely nothing to do with the Kemba trade. For crying out loud, Danny’s the schmuck who panicked when Kyrie left and chose Kemba over re-signing Horford. If Danny was some basketball savant, like some say, he’d have seen that Smart could be the PG we needed without forcing IT, Kyrie and Kemba on CBS.

And Danny is responsible for the only reason we have any chance at a title in the next couple of years. That would be Jayson Tatum. Who Danny Ainge was able to get AND squeeze out an additional pick in the process.

Our scouting staff deserves credit, too. You know, folks like Mike Zarren, the real brains behind the former Danny operation…

Here’s what Danny is: A guy who got us one title in 18 years. Not good enough for the Celtics. Check out my signature for what we worship in Boston. Utah may be happy with one title in 18 years, but not us.

Just hilarious. Almost as funny as the trade posts.

If you want to continue down this path of alternate reality, please don't let me stop you

Have to second Gouki here.

How can someone be proven so incredibly wrong all season long, and then still have such horrible horrible takes :]

[GreenlyGreeny]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

[gouki88]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

[GreenlyGreeny]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

Two hours of surveying the landscape and thinking about a way to dump Kemba is all it would have taken.

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

I’m talking about Fournier, Kemba, Nesmith, Kyrie, and on and on.

[gouki88]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

Two hours of surveying the landscape and thinking about a way to dump Kemba is all it would have taken.

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

I’m talking about Fournier, Kemba, Nesmith, Kyrie, and on and on.

Please, give us more insights into how easy it is to make trades in the NBA? What front office are you a part of again?

Right. So you're only talking about the elements that don't suit your narrative. In other words, it's hardly a modus operandi if there are numerous, consistent exceptions

[GreenlyGreeny]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

Two hours of surveying the landscape and thinking about a way to dump Kemba is all it would have taken.

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

I’m talking about Fournier, Kemba, Nesmith, Kyrie, and on and on.

Please, give us more insights into how easy it is to make trades in the NBA? What front office are you a part of again?

So you pickup the phone and call the GM of OKC and say “I want to trade Kemba and bring in Horford, so what else do we need to do to make this happen?” They negotiate from there and then their legal departments take care of the paperwork to finalize it. It’s not rocket science? This trade definitely did not require Danny’s magical involvement and the fact it did not happen at the 2021 deadline shows that far more likely than not, the trade had nothing to do with Danny and would not have happened had Brad not become GM.

Right. So you're only talking about the elements that don't suit your narrative. In other words, it's hardly a modus operandi if there are numerous, consistent exceptions

Danny gets credit for drafting Smart, JB, JT and Timelord. It was his final call. But let’s not pretend he brought them in and they were the 2022 players they are today. It’s fine to tip the hat to Danny, but this Danny worship is absurd at this point. This is clearly Brad’s and Ime’s team.

[Kiorrik]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

Two hours of surveying the landscape and thinking about a way to dump Kemba is all it would have taken.

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

I’m talking about Fournier, Kemba, Nesmith, Kyrie, and on and on.

Please, give us more insights into how easy it is to make trades in the NBA? What front office are you a part of again?

So you pickup the phone and call the GM of OKC and say “I want to trade Kemba and bring in Horford, so what else do we need to do to make this happen?” They negotiate from there and then their legal departments take care of the paperwork to finalize it. It’s not rocket science? This trade definitely did not require Danny’s magical involvement and the fact it did not happen at the 2021 deadline shows that far more likely than not, the trade had nothing to do with Danny and would not have happened had Brad not become GM.

Right. So you're only talking about the elements that don't suit your narrative. In other words, it's hardly a modus operandi if there are numerous, consistent exceptions

Danny gets credit for drafting Smart, JB, JT and Timelord. It was his final call. But let’s not pretend he brought them in and they were the 2022 players they are today. It’s fine to tip the hat to Danny, but this Danny worship is absurd at this point. This is clearly Brad’s and Ime’s team.

... dude, ... are you serious?

You can take credit for drafting people but only the first couple years of their careers?

Is this because he left afterwards? Or just a general rule? So any player developing later than year 2, can't be credited to the person that drafted them?

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It is HARD taking you seriously man

[jambr380]

I am seriously getting angered and upset reading greenly's posts in this thread. This can't actually be what people think...right?

I mentioned it earlier, but I don't love that the EOTY award is only given for immediate impact. Danny's last EOTY award was in 2008 (obviously deserved), but he doesn't get credit for the trade with BKN or even with PHI, where we are only now seeing everything come to fruition. If Brad wins EOTY this season, he should just mail it directly to Ainge. It's way more his award than Brad's.

[Kernewek]

He deserves some credit, but he clearly wasn't the architect of this team. His moves over the last 2 years showed he didn't fully understand what he had. He was more like the guy who bought the lumber.

This is an awesome team, but there was only one path to success, and that was a full commitment to defense on one end and better ball movement on the other. Tatum and Brown are awesome, but they aren't elite offensive decision makers yet. They are unique because they are big time scorers who are also capable of intense defense. There are less than 10 guys like that in the league.

Ainge just wanted to add talent. Kemba and Fournier were never going to be part of an air tight defensive scheme. Tatum and Brown can't be championship level great on offense alone.

Stevens and Udoka took what Ainge left them and got them to where they had to be.

Some credit??  He deserves a ton of credit. I mean, he drafted the core of Smart, Brown, Tatum, Timelord. Also drafted Pritchard and Grant. Danny was the one that initially brought in Horford and Theis as well. He also hired Brad and brought him into the organization. People need to give Danny his credit for this team, he was the architect.

Those are all parts. Ainge collected parts. He gets credit for getting almost all of the parts of the team we have now. What he didn't get to was how to assemble what he had into a group that could win a title.

We know he didn't get it because several of the last moves he made undercut the core identity that we are seeing now.

You could take this same group now, drop a couple of mediocre defenders and maybe an iso scorer/ball stopper or two into the rotation, and we win 45 games.

I think this is a good take.

[gouki88]

Think about it: If Danny was involved with the Horford deal and thought Theis was a key contributor, why did he not execute the Kemba/Horford deal at the 2021 deadline in order to get below the luxury line? We then would not have needed to trade Theis to Chicago to get below the line because dumping Kemba would have done the trick.

Here’s the answer: Danny had nothing to do with the Horford trade.

Here’s what Danny’s MO was: Draft and trade for best available talent, with an over-emphasis on shooting stats, but don’t bother thinking about chemistry/fit so much. In comparison, Brad and Ime have built this amazing chemistry/fit without any pieces being added that simply do not fit. We surely could have added more talent, but they assessed the fit/chemistry would not be there.

4-1 loss to the Nets last year and 3-0 lead this year, so hard to argue with Brad’s and Ime’s results.

You take one bit of information and then just invent these winding little narratives to try and justify your conclusions. You seriously think Stevens thought up and executed the Kemba trade after being on the job for a fortnight without any sort of aid from Ainge (and probably Zarren)?

Two hours of surveying the landscape and thinking about a way to dump Kemba is all it would have taken.

How on earth were Danny's last few drafts about shooting stats? The two Williams' were not shooters at all coming out of college.

I don't know why I'm bothering

I’m talking about Fournier, Kemba, Nesmith, Kyrie, and on and on.

Please, give us more insights into how easy it is to make trades in the NBA? What front office are you a part of again?

So you pickup the phone and call the GM of OKC and say “I want to trade Kemba and bring in Horford, so what else do we need to do to make this happen?” They negotiate from there and then their legal departments take care of the paperwork to finalize it. It’s not rocket science? This trade definitely did not require Danny’s magical involvement and the fact it did not happen at the 2021 deadline shows that far more likely than not, the trade had nothing to do with Danny and would not have happened had Brad not become GM.

Right. So you're only talking about the elements that don't suit your narrative. In other words, it's hardly a modus operandi if there are numerous, consistent exceptions

Danny gets credit for drafting Smart, JB, JT and Timelord. It was his final call. But let’s not pretend he brought them in and they were the 2022 players they are today. It’s fine to tip the hat to Danny, but this Danny worship is absurd at this point. This is clearly Brad’s and Ime’s team.

I love to waffle, often to my detriment.

I am lost for words.

[Roy H.]

It cracks me up that some still criticize Danny.  If it were up to fans on this blog, we’d be building around Julius Randle, Kris Dunn and Markelle Fultz.

[Goldstar88]

I am seriously getting angered and upset reading greenly's posts in this thread. This can't actually be what people think...right?

I mentioned it earlier, but I don't love that the EOTY award is only given for immediate impact. Danny's last EOTY award was in 2008 (obviously deserved), but he doesn't get credit for the trade with BKN or even with PHI, where we are only now seeing everything come to fruition. If Brad wins EOTY this season, he should just mail it directly to Ainge. It's way more his award than Brad's.

It’s not, don’t worry. I stopped reading after his first post on this subject. The reasoning is just absurd.

[kraidstar]

It cracks me up that some still criticize Danny.  If it were up to fans on this blog, we’d be building around Julius Randle, Kris Dunn and Markelle Fultz.

You're being overly kind, Roy. Those fans would have traded all those picks for Greg Monroe, Jahlil Okafor, Drummond, and Kevin Love. We'd have an army of rebounders and would get outscored by 50 points a game.