Here's a fact...without Ainge, we don't have a championship in 2008. If KG didn't go down in 2009, we probably have 3 championships.
Without KG, we wouldn't have had an opportunity at any championships. Can one argue KG fell into Ainge's lap? Was it Ainge's acumen that brought us KG (and that title), or a huge favor from a friend? Either can be supported...
So move on to post-trade history. What has he done? Letting Perk go, imho, was a giant mistake (if we are discussing short-term success, as you are above). Losing Allen was a mistake. Letting Ray walk was a mistake. Relatedly, dangling everyone openly, at every trade deadline were his biggest mistakes. We may not have lost Ray, we may have had a better chance at enticing FAs to come to Boston, and we may have seen a less-than-terrified Lee at the end of the year (maybe Bradley in the playoffs, too). A lot of speculation, but no less warranted than a lot of the points above meant to crucify the OP.
Firstly, Danny Ainge collected the assets to get KG. He got delonte, al jeff, gomes all outside the top 10. Jefferson was 14 and the highest pick outside of Jeff Green at 5. He absolutely nailed the Jefferson, delonte and gomes picks for where they were in the draft. If he wiffed on these picks there is no where near enough to even think about a KG trade. like former Wolves GM David Kahn or Bobcats brass would we be able to trade for KG? Jesus Kahn hadfour or five years in a row with top 8 picks.
Danny turned a bunch of mid first and late first & second rounders into Kevin Garnett.
Secondly he is one of a handful of GMs with the balls to approach the Wolves with such a crazy idea. He had the vision to go after KG and flip Green into Ray Allen when our Kevin Durant+Oden dreams were dashed.
Thirdly, having Perk on our team doesnt change a thing in 2010. He sucked and could barely lift off two feet. He was recovering from injury and we needed a backup for Pierce and a huge future asset. He actually went after Harden but OKC insisted on Green.
Perk on one leg doesnt get us a championship and Danny feared that Perk may never be the same again so he moved him while his stock was high & because Perk was going to demand way too much money as a free agent role player coming of major surgery.
Absolutely nailed that move. Then Greens heart stuff shows up and he still sees the value in grooming him and signing him to what will be a value deal at 9 million per year...could be a steal if he averages 20 and 5 next season.Give credit where its due.
Presti and Uriji are seen as elite GMs, same eith the rockets GM. How many top 3 or top 10 picks have those guys had in the last 10 years or when building a contender? How many has Danny had? Remember how he got Rondo? He specifically bought his way back into the draft to get him when he dropped to.21.
It's actually arguable that he's the best GM in the NBA.