We all owe Danny our gratitude

[Roy H.]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

I appreciate the optimism, but I'd like to first wait and see what happens after the smoke clears before I give Danny a smooch on the cheek.

Well, we’ve already seen enough. We have a title; Kyrie, Tatum and Brown; two max free agents have signed here; two projected lottery picks from other teams; and a really good team.

Having massive trade assets to offer for Davis is just a bonus.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Here, here.

I've had my fair share of hating Danny, but I realized it was foolish, and we are indeed lucky to have him as our GM.

[RodyTur10]

Danny should trade himself to New Orleans.

That would triumph all offers 

And if he gets Davis to Boston then his work is finished anyway.

[Chris22]

Ainge is great. I can hardly wait to see us in the playoffs.

[BringToughnessBack]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

TP...we are fortunate..imagine if our GM was like the Knicks or Nets GM’s....Boston is truly blessed in a few sports.

[Moranis]

My only real complaint is sometimes I feel Ainge is either too aggressive (like going after Winslow with all those picks) or too patient (not pulling the trigger on George, Cousins, etc.).  Otherwise I think he has done an excellent job.  Some misses in the draft, free agency, etc. but overall a darn good job and there are very few (if any) better overall. 

[Roy H.]

My only real complaint is sometimes I feel Ainge is either too aggressive (like going after Winslow with all those picks) or too patient (not pulling the trigger on George, Cousins, etc.).  Otherwise I think he has done an excellent job.  Some misses in the draft, free agency, etc. but overall a darn good job and there are very few (if any) better overall.

I think that's where the real detractors get hung up.  The expectation for some is perfection, so they look at "he moved up to take KO over Giannis" and can't forgive him for it, or put it into perspective.

[TheReaLPuba]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

Well before the KG/Allen trades this team was pretty putrid.

Our best players were Big Al, Ryan Gomes, and Delonte West.

[Roy H.]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

Well before the KG/Allen trades this team was pretty putrid.

Our best players were Big Al, Ryan Gomes, and Delonte West.

[umpacu]

TP Roy for a great post. I was thinking the same exact thing when pretty much everybody was saying that the Celtics has the best package to land AD. Really amazing what Danny has done to rebuild the team.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

He's tore down & rebuilt this team into a title contender....twice. 

Not too shabby.  This latest rebuild has them well positioned to be a contending team for the next 5-10 years barring catastrophe.   

yup

[Moranis]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

Well before the KG/Allen trades this team was pretty putrid.

Our best players were Big Al, Ryan Gomes, and Delonte West.

Let's also not forget Ainge was hired when Boston had just finished a season in the 2nd round of the playoffs and the season just before that they were in the ECF.  The team had a future HOFer just entering his prime, another all star also just entering his prime, as well as some solid role players surrounding the 2 stars.  The team also had two 1st round picks in the draft that summer (16 and 20 - Ainge traded them for 13 and 27 and took Banks and Perkins).  The team was putrid in many respects because Ainge made it putrid.  Now maybe it was the right decision to tear the team down when he took over, but I would have liked to have seen at least 1 more year with the Pierce and Walker duo to see what they might have been able to do. 

[Roy H.]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

Well before the KG/Allen trades this team was pretty putrid.

Our best players were Big Al, Ryan Gomes, and Delonte West.

Let's also not forget Ainge was hired when Boston had just finished a season in the 2nd round of the playoffs and the season just before that they were in the ECF.  The team had a future HOFer just entering his prime, another all star also just entering his prime, as well as some solid role players surrounding the 2 stars.  The team also had two 1st round picks in the draft that summer (16 and 20 - Ainge traded them for 13 and 27 and took Banks and Perkins).  The team was putrid in many respects because Ainge made it putrid.  Now maybe it was the right decision to tear the team down when he took over, but I would have liked to have seen at least 1 more year with the Pierce and Walker duo to see what they might have been able to do.

I think we saw what they could do. What’s the path to a championship for that team?  We even brought Antoine back and our team still wasn’t good enough.

I loved Antoine, but that team was going nowhere.  Without Danny’s decision we miss out on Big Al and Delonte, two key trade pieces that built our title team.  Without tanking we never have the #5 pick to get Ray, etc.

[nickagneta]

Some Danny stats:

- Celtic GM 16 years. Only other current NBA GMs/Presidents with longer tenure with their current team is Popovich and Riley.

- 12 playoff teams. That will become 13 in a couple months.

- 5 ECF teams

- 2 Finals teams

- 1 NBA Championship

- 1 NBA Executive of the Year Award

- Creator of Current Team from players to draft assets, coaches, medical staff, scouting staff, front office on down.

If the current team wins it all this year and Danny was then to retire, would his record of
16 years
13 playoff teams
6 ECF teams
3 Finals teams
2 NBA Championships
be good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame as an executive?

[Moranis]

A sobering thought: where would this franchise be without Danny Ainge?

Delivering us a title after 22 years would have made him a wildly successful GM. Transitioning from that title team to our current squad is nothing short of remarkable.

I was adamantly against the Brooklyn trade at the time, assuming that the Nets would be at least quasi-contenders for a few years. Instead, Danny turned KG and PP into Kyrie, Tatum, Brown and the SAC pick. He turned Jeff Green into the Memphis first.

Every time a player becomes available, we have a realistic chance to acquire him. We got Kyrie. We were in on PG13, Kawhi, and Butler. The media suggests we’ve got the best assets for AD. Meanwhile, we’ve signed two max free agents, flirted with Durant, and have a current team that can reach the Finals.

We’ve been spoiled as a fan base, perhaps second only to Golden State. We owe that almost exclusively to Danny.

Well before the KG/Allen trades this team was pretty putrid.

Our best players were Big Al, Ryan Gomes, and Delonte West.

Let's also not forget Ainge was hired when Boston had just finished a season in the 2nd round of the playoffs and the season just before that they were in the ECF.  The team had a future HOFer just entering his prime, another all star also just entering his prime, as well as some solid role players surrounding the 2 stars.  The team also had two 1st round picks in the draft that summer (16 and 20 - Ainge traded them for 13 and 27 and took Banks and Perkins).  The team was putrid in many respects because Ainge made it putrid.  Now maybe it was the right decision to tear the team down when he took over, but I would have liked to have seen at least 1 more year with the Pierce and Walker duo to see what they might have been able to do.

I think we saw what they could do. What’s the path to a championship for that team?  We even brought Antoine back and our team still wasn’t good enough.

I loved Antoine, but that team was going nowhere.  Without Danny’s decision we miss out on Big Al and Delonte, two key trade pieces that built our title team.  Without tanking we never have the #5 pick to get Ray, etc.

Does adding David West make a difference for that team?  What about Josh Howard instead of Perk? 

Tanking to get Ray was years later.  Danny didn't have to just sell off Toine without him playing a game under his regime right before the 2003-4 season started.  I mean Boston still made the playoffs that season and the year after (when they won 45 games, which was actually more than the last Toine team).  They followed up the 45 win season with 33 wins and then bottomed out at 24 wins when Pierce only played 47 games (they were 20-27 with Pierce and 4-31 without Pierce).  So the reality is they only "tanked" because Pierce got hurt (and then was held out).  Had Pierce not gotten hurt the team never would have tanked.  In other words, Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine and sold him off as soon as he could.  It worked out in the end because of dumb luck, which sometimes is more important than skill, but there wasn't a tank plan in place or anything like that.