Expect the unexpected with Danny Ainge

[Drucci]

Obviously no breaking news here but I felt it was interesting to point it out : Danny Ainge is a great GM for multiple reasons, and one of the biggest ones is that he is always surprising everybody. Not because he necessarily plans everything in advance but simply thanks to his risk-taking mentality.

From bringing KG and Ray in, to the Perkins/Green trade, hiring Brad Stevens, trading KG and Pierce for great picks, gambling on Crawford and turning him into an effective PG... What's even better about the Brad Stevens hire, outside of the fact that it is (so far) turning to be the most succesful college coach transition to the NBA, is that nobody saw it coming, not even Wojnarowski : it's really rare to get some stunning news like this one nowadays with Twitter and all the "sources".

I know I'm forgetting some other great surprises made by Danny. Il also know that some of his gambles didn't pan out but it's really great to have a GM that's willing to take risks who seem to appear calculated, and fit into a bigger/longer plan.

I feel like Danny is one of the rare GM you can feel comfortable with regarding the direction of the franchise.

That's why I think we will be surprised by his next move. Everybody seems to think he will trade Rondo, get this or that player but I'm sure he has something unexpected up his sleeve and I can't wait to see it. (Although I wouldn't be surprised to see the Stoudemire trade rumor come true : Danny would probably try to increase Amare's value by pairing him with Rondo and making him look good thanks to Rajon's passing)

[Celtics4ever]

DA thinks outside the box.

[erisred]

Danny thinks long term. 

[gpap]

DA has a nice smile.

[coco]

And the AW trade.  It was all about changing the culture more than anything else.

To me, that was one of his best move.....And way under appreciated.

Absolutely no other GM would have traded AW at the top of his value/career.

[LooseCannon]

I've always said that I didn't think Ainge would dump Rondo and that we should be prepared for the Celtics to be buyers near the deadline if there is a glut of teams selling off pieces and he can get a good bargain.

[csfansince60s]

And the AW trade.  It was all about changing the culture more than anything else.

To me, that was one of his best move.....And way under appreciated.

Absolutely no other GM would have traded AW at the top of his value/career.

TP.....without that trade PP may not have become the player he became and the FinalsMVP

[AshyLarry]

Danny is a Celtic above all else.... Let that sink in a bit.

[PhoSita]

What I like so much about Danny Ainge is that, like Brad Stevens, he has a process he believes in and he sticks to it regardless of short term results.

At the same time, what makes Danny such a good GM is that he doesn't place all of his bets on one particular plan.  He's not going to completely gut the roster in order to totally bottom out for the draft, and he's not going to amass cap space solely with the hope that he can get a superstar free agent to sign with the team. 

He adapts, and thinks multiple steps ahead.  That, I think, is what sets him apart from most GMs in the league.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The best thing about Danny Ainge is that he has an excellent exit strategy pretty much 100% of the time.

[BleedGreen1989]

I always have my own ideas regarding trades, free agency, and drafts. However, I'm very happy that we have one of the few organizations that can just sit back and trust our GM and brilliant new coach to make all the right decisions.

Brad+Danny=Success

[tstorey_97]

First and foremost Ainge is a disciple of Auerbach. This is not to say he isn't his own man, but, successful managers are keen observers and Red knew this with Ainge.

I will always suggest that Ainge will hold to one roster building principle and that is to include a defensive minded center. Auerbach had three famous ones in Russell, Cowens and Parish. I will assume, from a "predictability" stand point we will know that Ainge has played his title card when he signs a center in the above mold. How he gets his man, of course, can't be predicted.

[pearljammer10]

I could see Danny pulling something off to net us an all star around the trade deadline to pair with Rondo. He is just that type of GM. Blink your eyes and just like that he'll pull off a deal to put us right back on the path to contention.

[action781]

Obviously no breaking news here but I felt it was interesting to point it out : Danny Ainge is a great GM for multiple reasons, and one of the biggest ones is that he is always surprising everybody. Not because he necessarily plans everything in advance but simply thanks to his risk-taking mentality.

From bringing KG and Ray in, to the Perkins/Green trade, hiring Brad Stevens, trading KG and Pierce for great picks, gambling on Crawford and turning him into an effective PG... What's even better about the Brad Stevens hire, outside of the fact that it is (so far) turning to be the most succesful college coach transition to the NBA, is that nobody saw it coming, not even Wojnarowski : it's really rare to get some stunning news like this one nowadays with Twitter and all the "sources".

I know I'm forgetting some other great surprises made by Danny. Il also know that some of his gambles didn't pan out but it's really great to have a GM that's willing to take risks who seem to appear calculated, and fit into a bigger/longer plan.

I feel like Danny is one of the rare GM you can feel comfortable with regarding the direction of the franchise.

That's why I think we will be surprised by his next move. Everybody seems to think he will trade Rondo, get this or that player but I'm sure he has something unexpected up his sleeve and I can't wait to see it. (Although I wouldn't be surprised to see the Stoudemire trade rumor come true : Danny would probably try to increase Amare's value by pairing him with Rondo and making him look good thanks to Rajon's passing)

I think you're romanticizing Danny and his moves a little bit.
-The Perk/Green trade arguably may have cost us a championship (I'm not in the camp that thinks so, but many cannot be convinced otherwise)
-Jordan Crawford wasn't a "gamble"... we traded an injured Barbosa and a fairly useless Jason Collins for him.
-Not signing TA to a similar deal that he got in memphis has proved to be a big mistake.

I don't know why the pessimist in me couldn't resist harping on those points... because in actuality, I do like Danny.  I think he's in the top half of GMs in the league and am happy with him being here.

[Mr October]

Obviously no breaking news here but I felt it was interesting to point it out : Danny Ainge is a great GM for multiple reasons, and one of the biggest ones is that he is always surprising everybody. Not because he necessarily plans everything in advance but simply thanks to his risk-taking mentality.

From bringing KG and Ray in, to the Perkins/Green trade, hiring Brad Stevens, trading KG and Pierce for great picks, gambling on Crawford and turning him into an effective PG... What's even better about the Brad Stevens hire, outside of the fact that it is (so far) turning to be the most succesful college coach transition to the NBA, is that nobody saw it coming, not even Wojnarowski : it's really rare to get some stunning news like this one nowadays with Twitter and all the "sources".

I know I'm forgetting some other great surprises made by Danny. Il also know that some of his gambles didn't pan out but it's really great to have a GM that's willing to take risks who seem to appear calculated, and fit into a bigger/longer plan.

I feel like Danny is one of the rare GM you can feel comfortable with regarding the direction of the franchise.

That's why I think we will be surprised by his next move. Everybody seems to think he will trade Rondo, get this or that player but I'm sure he has something unexpected up his sleeve and I can't wait to see it. (Although I wouldn't be surprised to see the Stoudemire trade rumor come true : Danny would probably try to increase Amare's value by pairing him with Rondo and making him look good thanks to Rajon's passing)

I think you're romanticizing Danny and his moves a little bit.
-The Perk/Green trade arguably may have cost us a championship (I'm not in the camp that thinks so, but many cannot be convinced otherwise)
-Jordan Crawford wasn't a "gamble"... we traded an injured Barbosa and a fairly useless Jason Collins for him.
-Not signing TA to a similar deal that he got in memphis has proved to be a big mistake.

I don't know why the pessimist in me couldn't resist harping on those points... because in actuality, I do like Danny.  I think he's in the top half of GMs in the league and am happy with him being here.

No GM will be perfect. As long as he bats above average, we are in good shape. Ainge not only bats above average, but a has shown he can blast a couple home runs.