Thank you, Danny

[Roy H.]

He won't get a ring for this title, but we don't win it without him. 

He brought us the Jaylen/Jayson era.  First, he made the trade.  Then he nailed the draft picks.  And, probably the most underrated thing:  he recognized what he had.  He could have dealt JB for Kawhi, or Boogie, or Butler or Paul George.  Every time, the reports out of Boston were that he loved Brown.

So, hat tip to the man who laid the foundation.

[bdm860]

Hitting on Brown and Tatum in back-to-back drafts was so awesome, stuff of legends.  The trade to get there, plus the picks themselves.

Brown supposedly was slotted to go 6-8. (Simmons infamous tweet: "I'm not against the Jaylen pick - just feels like they took the 6th or 7th pick at pick 3. Wish they had traded down - maybe they couldn't.").

And trading out of a unanimous #1 in Fultz, to take a guy pegged to go #3-#5.  Wow.

Both guys look like the clear #1 choice in those drafts now.  It's so rare to nail drafts like that, very few people have the guts to go against the grain there.

Brings me back to 2007 draft.  Oden vs Durant.  99% of GMs are picking Oden #1, but there's rumors Danny would have taken Durant #1.  After Brown and Tatum, I fully believe Danny would have nailed that one too.

He definitely loaded the bases for Stevens to drive everyone home.

[kraidstar]

TP

He also drafted Rob, Grant, and Smart, who helped get us close to a title, even though they were ultimately traded. And he first brought Al here, and drafted PP.

Danny definitely laid down the framework for a title. I feel bad the way things worked out for him with Hayward, Kyrie, Kemba etc. Just an atrocious run of luck.

[Surferdad]

I feel like I already thanked Danny years ago for how far he brought this team. This just doesn?t seem like the right time to thank him again. Brad Stevens took over and made this team into a champion.

Danny?s flaw was to always go after elite players and not consider the team as a whole and how the pieces might fit together. This is where Brad excelled.

[Roy H.]

I feel like I already thanked Danny years ago for how far he brought this team. This just doesn?t seem like the right time to thank him again. Brad Stevens took over and made this team into a champion.

Danny?s flaw was to always go after elite players and not consider the team as a whole and how the pieces might fit together. This is where Brad excelled.

You can't acknowledge more than one person?

[gift]

i've long said the single biggest turning point for the franchise post-90's was KG coming. with this championship and the core that won it, i should probably say that Danny coming back in 2003 was the biggest turning point. even though KG's impact was more dramatic and immediate, Ainge's impact slowly but surely set the franchise back on the path of championships. we can trace these current champs all the way back to 2003, a time when it seemed all championship glory was solidly in the past. there was no shortage of disappointments between 2003-2023. but two title teams, multiple finals teams, a bunch of conference finals, and several other squads to be proud of was a stark difference to the preceding decade or so. and it seemed to begin slowly in 2003.

[celticinorlando]

Danny put up the frame work of the house

Brad was the finishing carpenter

Danny should be thanked

[BudweiserCeltic]

Big fan of Danny, and for sure his body of work touches this Championship for sure and should be recognized. Just the same way, what Brad has done since he took over has been masterful in my opinion, starting with bringing Big Al back.

For someone as nice as he is, he really made a lot of tough decisions and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger when deemed necessary.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Danny put up the frame work of the house

Brad was the finishing carpenter

Danny should be thanked

[tonydelk]

Danny put up the frame work of the house

Brad was the finishing carpenter

Danny should be thanked

Sure.  Thank you Danny for leaving when you did.  I highly doubt he makes the same deals that Brad did.  Danny needed to win trades.  Brad was ok giving up assets.  Does Danny make the Al trade?  Does Danny make the Smart for Zinger trade or even the DWhite trade?  While I appreciate what Danny did I also think that if he didn't leave when he did the C's would not be in the position they are in.

[kraidstar]

Danny put up the frame work of the house

Brad was the finishing carpenter

Danny should be thanked

Sure.  Thank you Danny for leaving when you did.  I highly doubt he makes the same deals that Brad did.  Danny needed to win trades.  Brad was ok giving up assets.  Does Danny make the Al trade?  Does Danny make the Smart for Zinger trade or even the DWhite trade?  While I appreciate what Danny did I also think that if he didn't leave when he did the C's would not be in the position they are in.

Danny made the moves to put together the KG team. He traded for Kyrie. I don't really fault him for the Jays' early losses. They were too young, and the team was perpetually derailed by injuries anyways. How do you know he wasn't biding his time to finish constructing the roster?

And Ainge's relative frugality led directly to Stevens having the assets to actually make those trades. Dumb GM's get happy feet and trade all their picks going "all-in" too early or on the wrong guy. We can debate whether Ainge would have made the right moves.

But he definitely left Brad is great position to succeed.

[Kernewek]

i've long said the single biggest turning point for the franchise post-90's was KG coming. with this championship and the core that won it, i should probably say that Danny coming back in 2003 was the biggest turning point. even though KG's impact was more dramatic and immediate, Ainge's impact slowly but surely set the franchise back on the path of championships. we can trace these current champs all the way back to 2003, a time when it seemed all championship glory was solidly in the past. there was no shortage of disappointments between 2003-2023. but two title teams, multiple finals teams, a bunch of conference finals, and several other squads to be proud of was a stark difference to the preceding decade or so. and it seemed to begin slowly in 2003.

This is a very good post.

[Chef Parish]

I'd like to thank Chris Wallace for drafting Paul Pierce who was an instrumental rooting advocate for this year's Celtics as well as sneaking into their team photo.

[Redz]

I'd like to thank Chris Wallace for drafting Paul Pierce who was an instrumental rooting advocate for this year's Celtics as well as sneaking into their team photo.

No Pierce, no KG, no lottery picks from the Nets, No Brown, No Tatum

[Roy H.]

I'd like to thank Chris Wallace for drafting Paul Pierce who was an instrumental rooting advocate for this year's Celtics as well as sneaking into their team photo.

Wasn't Pitino in charge of that draft?