Danny's Job Security is Secure

[Moranis]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

Ainge didn't draft Marshon Brooks.  New Jersey did.  There was a draft day trade involving that selection.  Ainge drafted even worse by trading back two slots and drafting JJJ and picking up a future 2nd rounder in the trade (Russ Smith 2014, not by Boston).  The next 4 picks after JJJ were Norris Cole, Cory Joseph, Jimmy Butler, and Boran Bogdanovic.  I'd say that is a clear miss as any one of those 4 are far better players than JJJ (I mean obviously Butler would have been awesome, but the other 3 are solid role players in the league which is good value that late in the 1st round).  Parsons and Thomas were in the 2nd round that year along with some other solid role players.  Just a terrible draft from Ainge.

Terrible draft by Ainge ?  Where was he picking again ?  I mean man, fire him if he can't land a 10 time all star in the 25 range.  My word

Let me say this again, the 4 players selected after Ainge took JJJ were in order Norris Cole, Cory Joseph, Jimmy Butler, and Boran Bogdanovic.  Chandler Parsons went in the 2nd round and thought the Celtics had promised to take him at the end of the 1st.  Any of those 5 players were significantly better than JJJ, only one is an all star.  You don't need all stars from that position (though they are nice), but you do expect a usuable role player and not a guy that was so bad he only lasted 1 season in the league. 

Ainge has had 3 players drafted in the first round not even survive their rookie contract (EDIT: and I don't mean on the Celtics, I mean in the league).  That is bad.

[Jon]

But he should be secure.  As Bill Bellichick talked about the other day, teams knee-jerk too often on coaches/front office because it's easier to can one of them than turnover the whole team. 

But what has Ainge really done wrong?  Maybe some draft picks haven't hit, but a lot have.  The biggest complaint most people seem to have is that he's not pulled off a blockerbuster for a superstar via trade, free agency, or winning the draft lottery.  But none of those things are anything anyone else could have done differently. 

Making him worry about his job is only going to cause him to make rash decisions that aren't in the best interest of the long term success of the team.  If B.B. ran things like that, he'd have gone "all in" on some team in the latter part of last decade/early part of this one and the team would be in shambles at this point.  Instead, the Patriots are perennial in a position to succeed because B.B. has the job security to take a hit in the short term for success in the long term. 

[mctyson]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

You could say that about any GM in the league any year.  Late 1st round drafting not a valid criticism.

I think he has made two clear mistakes in his GM role, other wise he has been amazing.

1)  Letting Tony Allen walk away.  He would have been very helpful late in the KG-Pierce era.

2)  Doing the Telfair trade when they could have had a much better player.

[MJohnnyboy]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

You could say that about any GM in the league any year.  Late 1st round drafting not a valid criticism.

I think he has made two clear mistakes in his GM role, other wise he has been amazing.

1)  Letting Tony Allen walk away.  He would have been very helpful late in the KG-Pierce era.

2)  Doing the Telfair trade when they could have had a much better player.

I'll add three more:

3.The first Antoine trade. I admire Danny because of his realistic view on the team with this trade. He knew the 'Toine and Pierce team had piqued and weren't going to get better so he traded Toine while his value was high. However, what he got back for Antoine was awful. Washed-up Lafrentz and his albatross contract, filler and Dallas' 1st. Atleast the Celtics got Delonte West, who became one of the pieces in the Ray Allen deal. I still think Danny could have gotten more for Walker.

4. The Blount extension. A classic contract run by one of the least-liked Celtics of all time. Luckily Danny has not been fooled like that since then.

5. The Scalabrine contract. I didn't mind Scal when he was here but his contract was way too long. It should have been cut down to 3 or 4 years. Not 5 for just a borderline role player.

I also disagree with the TA assessment. Danny offered him more money than Memphis did. Tony Allen leaving was on Tony Allen because he wanted a more prominent role than the Celtics had to offer. He wanted to be more than just a back-up to Ray and Pierce. Even if that screwed both parties out of winning another championship in the league, Tony was right. Memphis gave him a bigger role than the Celtics would have. That however is not Danny's fault. Not to mention before he suddenly morphed himself into a valuable rotation player, we all wanted TA gone ASAP.

A few fans will point to the Jeff Green-Kendrick Perkins swap as one of Danny's biggest mistakes. I see their point but to this day I still think it was a risk worth taking. The Celtics were one of the best teams in the league without Perk playing for most of the season. The Celtics had no back-up for Pierce with Quis out and knew they were going to face Lebron in the playoffs. Jeff Green was young and had shown he could produce. The silver lining was we thought he could be the future along with Rondo when the Big 3 era was over. Not to mention OKC would definitely never do that trade if they knew what was going to happen.

He's made his mistakes, but Danny's done a masterful job.

[Moranis]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

You could say that about any GM in the league any year.  Late 1st round drafting not a valid criticism.

I think he has made two clear mistakes in his GM role, other wise he has been amazing.

1)  Letting Tony Allen walk away.  He would have been very helpful late in the KG-Pierce era.

2)  Doing the Telfair trade when they could have had a much better player.

I'll add three more:

3.The first Antoine trade. I admire Danny because of his realistic view on the team with this trade. He knew the 'Toine and Pierce team had piqued and weren't going to get better so he traded Toine while his value was high. However, what he got back for Antoine was awful. Washed-up Lafrentz and his albatross contract, filler and Dallas' 1st. Atleast the Celtics got Delonte West, who became one of the pieces in the Ray Allen deal. I still think Danny could have gotten more for Walker.

4. The Blount extension. A classic contract run by one of the least-liked Celtics of all time. Luckily Danny has not been fooled like that since then.

5. The Scalabrine contract. I didn't mind Scal when he was here but his contract was way too long. It should have been cut down to 3 or 4 years. Not 5 for just a borderline role player.

I also disagree with the TA assessment. Danny offered him more money than Memphis did. Tony Allen leaving was on Tony Allen because he wanted a more prominent role than the Celtics had to offer. He wanted to be more than just a back-up to Ray and Pierce. Even if that screwed both parties out of winning another championship in the league, Tony was right. Memphis gave him a bigger role than the Celtics would have. That however is not Danny's fault. Not to mention before he suddenly morphed himself into a valuable rotation player, we all wanted TA gone ASAP.

A few fans will point to the Jeff Green-Kendrick Perkins swap as one of Danny's biggest mistakes. I see their point but to this day I still think it was a risk worth taking. The Celtics were one of the best teams in the league without Perk playing for most of the season. The Celtics had no back-up for Pierce with Quis out and knew they were going to face Lebron in the playoffs. Jeff Green was young and had shown he could produce. The silver lining was we thought he could be the future along with Rondo when the Big 3 era was over. Not to mention OKC would definitely never do that trade if they knew what was going to happen.

He's made his mistakes, but Danny's done a masterful job.

I wouldn't call his job a masterful job.  Since the KG trade he really hasn't hit a homerun on any trade, any free agent signing, or any draft pick.  He has been pretty average for close to a decade and the last 4 years have lacked direction.  I still have no idea if we are trying to win or if we are rebuilding.  That isn't the place to be.  He needs to pick a direction (it can probably wait till this summer, but he has to go one way or the other i.e. either trade the BKN pick or build around that player).   

His job is secure, but it isn't nearly as secure as it once way. 

[GC003332]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

You could say that about any GM in the league any year.  Late 1st round drafting not a valid criticism.

I think he has made two clear mistakes in his GM role, other wise he has been amazing.

1)  Letting Tony Allen walk away.  He would have been very helpful late in the KG-Pierce era.

2)  Doing the Telfair trade when they could have had a much better player.

I'll add three more:

3.The first Antoine trade. I admire Danny because of his realistic view on the team with this trade. He knew the 'Toine and Pierce team had piqued and weren't going to get better so he traded Toine while his value was high. However, what he got back for Antoine was awful. Washed-up Lafrentz and his albatross contract, filler and Dallas' 1st. Atleast the Celtics got Delonte West, who became one of the pieces in the Ray Allen deal. I still think Danny could have gotten more for Walker.

4. The Blount extension. A classic contract run by one of the least-liked Celtics of all time. Luckily Danny has not been fooled like that since then.

5. The Scalabrine contract. I didn't mind Scal when he was here but his contract was way too long. It should have been cut down to 3 or 4 years. Not 5 for just a borderline role player.

I also disagree with the TA assessment. Danny offered him more money than Memphis did. Tony Allen leaving was on Tony Allen because he wanted a more prominent role than the Celtics had to offer. He wanted to be more than just a back-up to Ray and Pierce. Even if that screwed both parties out of winning another championship in the league, Tony was right. Memphis gave him a bigger role than the Celtics would have. That however is not Danny's fault. Not to mention before he suddenly morphed himself into a valuable rotation player, we all wanted TA gone ASAP.

A few fans will point to the Jeff Green-Kendrick Perkins swap as one of Danny's biggest mistakes. I see their point but to this day I still think it was a risk worth taking. The Celtics were one of the best teams in the league without Perk playing for most of the season. The Celtics had no back-up for Pierce with Quis out and knew they were going to face Lebron in the playoffs. Jeff Green was young and had shown he could produce. The silver lining was we thought he could be the future along with Rondo when the Big 3 era was over. Not to mention OKC would definitely never do that trade if they knew what was going to happen.

He's made his mistakes, but Danny's done a masterful job.

I wouldn't call his job a masterful job.  Since the KG trade he really hasn't hit a homerun on any trade, any free agent signing, or any draft pick.  He has been pretty average for close to a decade and the last 4 years have lacked direction.  I still have no idea if we are trying to win or if we are rebuilding.  That isn't the place to be.  He needs to pick a direction (it can probably wait till this summer, but he has to go one way or the other i.e. either trade the BKN pick or build around that player).   

His job is secure, but it isn't nearly as secure as it once way.

The second KG trade to the Nets has the potential to be more than a home run, just have to be patient and see it unfold this season and the next 2, if the Celtics can get a couple of high end lottery picks for a washed up KG and PP , that very well could rank up there with the original KG trade in 2007.
That trade could well define Ainge's legacy as a GM.

[Moranis]

This is true. Nice post.

Danny certainly hit the jackpot with the Brooklyn picks. There was no guarantee at the time they would be anything better than mid-first round.

Ainge does need to stay hungry. He wasn't that great a GM, imho, from 2009 to the Brad Stevens era.

On the other hand, Ainge has been very nifty with recent deals having nothing to do with the Brooklyn lottery pick(s).

Perhaps he tried his best in the Big Three era and he simply had his hands tied due to salary cap limitations.

Danny has lined himself up to become a historic GM. With better luck in regards to KG's knee, that team might have three-peated. Then Danny would be completely immune to critique.

Whether Danny is a genius or lucky or some combination, he has earned the job security you mention. In a way, that is scary. Hopefully he is bringing more people into the decision mix as he ages and doesn't get too full of himself.

How so ?  In 2010, he wins a championship without injuries.  Darn good team that year.  You have to be a pretty darn good GM to make the finals.

56 win team in 2011, and he wasn't a good GM ?  Come on now.

4th seed in the East in 2012.  Not to darn shabby.

Then came one of the best NBA thefts in the history of the league.  The Brooklyn trade.

I think you need to rethink it if you thought he wasn't that good from 09-to the Stevens era.  He was darn good.  Sign the boy up to a 10 year extension please.

He's a great GM, don't get me wrong --- but he was kind of in cruise control after winning a ring in 08....

for example:

In 09 he never should have let Posey walk.  He ended up leaving that team to defend the title with a bunch of rookies & malcontents (Giddens, Walker, Marbury, Sheed) and lost the one glue guy that helped us most off the bench. 

Then 2011 he drafted Marshon Brooks with Jimmy Butler and Chandler Parsons still on the board.  Assuming his scouting at the time was in the backseat as our team was a major contender -- but still as a GM can't let that happen.

Also failed at evaluating Jeff Green's talent, again.  That alone might have cost us a banner -- but also seemed to be the reality check he needed to get himself back into gear.  Has been much better since that ill-fated Perk deal.     

You could say that about any GM in the league any year.  Late 1st round drafting not a valid criticism.

I think he has made two clear mistakes in his GM role, other wise he has been amazing.

1)  Letting Tony Allen walk away.  He would have been very helpful late in the KG-Pierce era.

2)  Doing the Telfair trade when they could have had a much better player.

I'll add three more:

3.The first Antoine trade. I admire Danny because of his realistic view on the team with this trade. He knew the 'Toine and Pierce team had piqued and weren't going to get better so he traded Toine while his value was high. However, what he got back for Antoine was awful. Washed-up Lafrentz and his albatross contract, filler and Dallas' 1st. Atleast the Celtics got Delonte West, who became one of the pieces in the Ray Allen deal. I still think Danny could have gotten more for Walker.

4. The Blount extension. A classic contract run by one of the least-liked Celtics of all time. Luckily Danny has not been fooled like that since then.

5. The Scalabrine contract. I didn't mind Scal when he was here but his contract was way too long. It should have been cut down to 3 or 4 years. Not 5 for just a borderline role player.

I also disagree with the TA assessment. Danny offered him more money than Memphis did. Tony Allen leaving was on Tony Allen because he wanted a more prominent role than the Celtics had to offer. He wanted to be more than just a back-up to Ray and Pierce. Even if that screwed both parties out of winning another championship in the league, Tony was right. Memphis gave him a bigger role than the Celtics would have. That however is not Danny's fault. Not to mention before he suddenly morphed himself into a valuable rotation player, we all wanted TA gone ASAP.

A few fans will point to the Jeff Green-Kendrick Perkins swap as one of Danny's biggest mistakes. I see their point but to this day I still think it was a risk worth taking. The Celtics were one of the best teams in the league without Perk playing for most of the season. The Celtics had no back-up for Pierce with Quis out and knew they were going to face Lebron in the playoffs. Jeff Green was young and had shown he could produce. The silver lining was we thought he could be the future along with Rondo when the Big 3 era was over. Not to mention OKC would definitely never do that trade if they knew what was going to happen.

He's made his mistakes, but Danny's done a masterful job.

I wouldn't call his job a masterful job.  Since the KG trade he really hasn't hit a homerun on any trade, any free agent signing, or any draft pick.  He has been pretty average for close to a decade and the last 4 years have lacked direction.  I still have no idea if we are trying to win or if we are rebuilding.  That isn't the place to be.  He needs to pick a direction (it can probably wait till this summer, but he has to go one way or the other i.e. either trade the BKN pick or build around that player).   

His job is secure, but it isn't nearly as secure as it once way.

The second KG trade to the Nets has the potential to be more than a home run, just have to be patient and see it unfold this season and the next 2, if the Celtics can get a couple of high end lottery picks for a washed up KG and PP , that very well could rank up there with the original KG trade in 2007.
That trade could well define Ainge's legacy as a GM.

Fair point, but I would feel a lot better about that trade if I didn't feel we wasted the last couple of seasons in no man's land (I do realize we had a 25 win season in there).  I'm just not a fan of hovering around 40 wins when I don't believe there is a single player on the team that would be a starter on a title team. 

[CelticPride2016]

Fair point, but I would feel a lot better about that trade if I didn't feel we wasted the last couple of seasons in no man's land (I do realize we had a 25 win season in there).  I'm just not a fan of hovering around 40 wins when I don't believe there is a single player on the team that would be a starter on a title team.

I think the definition of "no man's land" has changed. It used to be a 40-50 win team up against the salary cap without the firepower to ultimately challenge the best teams.

The Celtics have a lot of young players who could turn out bad, mediocre, good, or great. Most players on this team are big question marks and that's why no one is safe.

I think the Brooklyn deal was the best Danny could do and that he was more lucky than clever.

It doesn't matter if it was luck, however. Ainge wasn't lucky in 2008. People talk about Ray and KG, but the rest of the roster was perfect. Getting P.J. Brown was a great move. Danny might be living off of one great GM year, but we are getting potentially three straight years of top picks or at least this year the Nets' pick looks like a top five pick.

Ainge needs some more titles. Pat Riley is an enemy, but I'd have to say he's had the better GM career of the two.

Ainge's legacy will be decided on how this plays out. No one knows whether it will be similar to 2008 in which "assets" are converted into NBA stars or if this could take a while.

We could be on the "treadmill" for a couple more years, but as long as the trajectory continues upward, it's nothing like the Knicks a few years ago spending all their cap money for big names that won nothing. The Brooklyn Nets are on the ultimate treadmill.

The Celtics might win 50-60 games next year. Brooklyn might end up with one pick a #25 over a three year period.

The extent of how lucky Danny is makes the fact that he is lucky a moot point. He has earned the right to convert or develop the so-called assets.

Maybe it's better to be lucky than good. I don't think Danny is a great GM. He is definitely a good GM who hit the jackpot.

There's still time for the C's to win 50 games. They are doing much better this year than last at the same time. There is so much unfolding. The recent stretch was painful, but the NBA is a brutal league. Team psyches are extremely fragile. I am grateful for being able to follow a non-tanking team.

Danny probably has five years of job security. He could mess up or have bad luck and in five years the owners may say we are going in a new direction. But I don't see that happening. No one can predict the future. We are in a good place. Danny deserves most of the credit whether he was lucky or not.

[oldtype]

"No man's land" is when you're stuck in the middle with no capability to make changes and get better. Where we are is not no man's land.

[ssspence]

Danny Ainge as GM summed up in 4 words:

Deals: Exceptional

Draft: Average

[Csfan1984]

"No man's land" is when you're stuck in the middle with no capability to make changes and get better. Where we are is not no man's land.

Agreed we are casually sitting at mediocrity waiting for the right deal but still making playoff $. Owners are happy. Also C's can still put on a decent fight against teams in the regular season so 70% of the fans are happy.

[PhoSita]

Danny has spent the last few years building up the stockpile of assets.

Over the next few years, he's gonna have to use those assets.

His job is 100% safe right now.  If we're sitting here a few years from now and the path to contention is no clearer than it is now, after that pile of assets has been used or turned over in one way or another, then I think there'll be rumblings about his job security.

Then again, how long is Danny gonna do this?  I wonder if at some point he isn't simply gonna turn this over to Mike Zarren.

[mctyson]

I'll add three more:

3.The first Antoine trade. I admire Danny because of his realistic view on the team with this trade. He knew the 'Toine and Pierce team had piqued and weren't going to get better so he traded Toine while his value was high. However, what he got back for Antoine was awful. Washed-up Lafrentz and his albatross contract, filler and Dallas' 1st. Atleast the Celtics got Delonte West, who became one of the pieces in the Ray Allen deal. I still think Danny could have gotten more for Walker.

4. The Blount extension. A classic contract run by one of the least-liked Celtics of all time. Luckily Danny has not been fooled like that since then.

5. The Scalabrine contract. I didn't mind Scal when he was here but his contract was way too long. It should have been cut down to 3 or 4 years. Not 5 for just a borderline role player.

I am not a fan of pointing at contract signings as as clear "mistakes" because you can always recover from that somehow, via trade or at worst a buyout.  Blount was worth nowhere near what he was paid, having said that he actually played quite well in his contract year and he was a Center...those guys always get overpaid.

[aingeforthree]

Danny Ainge as GM summed up in 4 words:

Deals: Exceptional

Draft: Average

Draft is average ? You can't be average when you've had garbage picks (because you had a darn good team most of his years) mostly in the 20 something ranges. Big Al, Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, West, Bradley, Gerald Green are far from 'average'. The pick locations have been average at best, that's for sure. Mostly garbage 20 something picks.

Give Ainge Hinkie's pick locations the past 10 years and tell me with a straight face he'd be average. He's turned Hinkie type picks into players like Ray Allen (draft night trades). He's made a draft night trade 5 out of like 11 drafts btw

[ssspence]

Danny Ainge as GM summed up in 4 words:

Deals: Exceptional

Draft: Average

Draft is average ? You can't be average when you've had garbage picks (because you had a darn good team most of his years) mostly in the 20 something ranges. Big Al, Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, West, Bradley, Gerald Green are far from 'average'. The pick locations have been average at best, that's for sure. Mostly garbage 20 something picks.

Give Ainge Hinkie's pick locations the past 10 years and tell me with a straight face he'd be average. He's turned Hinkie type picks into players like Ray Allen (draft night trades). He's made a draft night trade 5 out of like 11 drafts btw

Gerald Green? When your listing him in the group of Ainge's top picks, it proves my point.