We all owe Danny our gratitude

[gpap]

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.

If Ainge can land Davis by trading himself to New Orleans, I would name him executive of the millennium.

I am not quite sure what New Orleans would do with him, but that's another story.

[mctyson]

Back to back Eastern Conference Finals appearances and they've got a good shot to go to the Finals this season. It's been a remarkable rebuild. The standards are high for the Celtics but complaining about this kind of success has got to drive other teams crazy.

I'd add that Ainge doesn't do this himself. I think he has a great team and Mike Zarren seems like he's indispensable.

I think that is where a lot of the 'hate' is coming from re: Kyrie.  The league genuinely fears what Ainge, Zarren and Stevens can do with this roster.  Outside of the Golden State starting 5, is there another roster in the league better off for the present and future than the Celtics?  No.

And it is not just the rebuild, it is the fact that Ainge is seemingly winning EVERY trade.  I mean the guy traded down from the #1 pick in the draft and completely worked the Sixers on that.  Memphis is going to be so bad that the Cs might get a top-5 pick out of that in three years.  He turned a washed up Kendrick Perkins into a lottery pick!!

[mctyson]

Back to back Eastern Conference Finals appearances and they've got a good shot to go to the Finals this season. It's been a remarkable rebuild. The standards are high for the Celtics but complaining about this kind of success has got to drive other teams crazy.

I'd add that Ainge doesn't do this himself. I think he has a great team and Mike Zarren seems like he's indispensable.

Very true. Zarren is awesome. I’m not sure if it’s Ainge or somebody else who is in charge of hiring decisions, but our front office has got to be in the top three overall in the NBA.

I assume Zarren is getting paid like a GM, he could have been one by now if he wanted to.

I've definitely read that Zarren has had opportunities but he's chosen to stay in Boston. I don't know why. Maybe he likes being out of the spotlight, or has loyalty to the Celtics or maybe Ainge has him under hypnosis.

Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it.

Zarren is a huge Celtics fan and probably has as much influence on the roster here as he would anywhere else.

[mqtcelticsfan]

To the “he’s only won one title” crowd, here’s a list of top executives that have won a title in the past 30 years:

Bob Myers
David Griffin
RC Buford/Gregg Popovich
Pat Riley
Donnie Nelson (I guess?!)
Mitch Kupchak
Joe Dumars
Jerry West
Jerry Krause
Tod Leiweke
Jack McCloskey
Danny Ainge

That’s 12/(13 technically) people in 30 years. The list since Ainge took over in 2003 shrinks to 8 in 16 years. Winning a title in this league, especially without a guy like Jordan or LeBron is amazing.

[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.

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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

[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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

Sure, but Jefferson was the 15th pick because Boston made the playoffs.  West and T. Allen went 24 and 25.  They got the West pick from the Toine trade and the Allen pick in the Pistons post-season push later that season (C's got Hunter, Atkins, cash and the pick for James and Mills).  I think he probably makes the Pistons trade even if Toine was on the team (obviously Chris Mills isn't in the trade, but someone else could have been).  He might not have acquied Ricky Davis though if Toine was there.   That summer, even if Al still went 15 (and Boston didn't), Boston could have ended up with Josh Smith or JR Smith (who were 17 and 18) and probably could have purchased an extra pick if Ainge was sold on Allen and West (Kevin Martin went 26 - that is a pretty decent group for 24-26 in a draft).

Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine's game and moved him the first chance he got.  It is that sort of move that often gets Ainge into issues.  That trade caused a domino of trading where he rebuilt the team, kept them in the playoffs, but actually hurt its ability to win a title as it didn't have as much top end talent (Toine for all his flaws was still the 2nd best player to play in the Ainge regime until the Ray Allen trade).  If Pierce doesn't get hurt in the 06-07 season, then Boston doesn't end up anywhere near the top 5 and Ainge probably gets fired within a year or two.  Pierce getting hurt saved Ainge's job, led to a title, and the years of properity since.  Sometimes you just have to get lucky by being unlucky.

[elcotte]

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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

Sure, but Jefferson was the 15th pick because Boston made the playoffs.  West and T. Allen went 24 and 25.  They got the West pick from the Toine trade and the Allen pick in the Pistons post-season push later that season (C's got Hunter, Atkins, cash and the pick for James and Mills).  I think he probably makes the Pistons trade even if Toine was on the team (obviously Chris Mills isn't in the trade, but someone else could have been).  He might not have acquied Ricky Davis though if Toine was there.   That summer, even if Al still went 15 (and Boston didn't), Boston could have ended up with Josh Smith or JR Smith (who were 17 and 18) and probably could have purchased an extra pick if Ainge was sold on Allen and West (Kevin Martin went 26 - that is a pretty decent group for 24-26 in a draft).

Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine's game and moved him the first chance he got.  It is that sort of move that often gets Ainge into issues.  That trade caused a domino of trading where he rebuilt the team, kept them in the playoffs, but actually hurt its ability to win a title as it didn't have as much top end talent (Toine for all his flaws was still the 2nd best player to play in the Ainge regime until the Ray Allen trade).  If Pierce doesn't get hurt in the 06-07 season, then Boston doesn't end up anywhere near the top 5 and Ainge probably gets fired within a year or two.  Pierce getting hurt saved Ainge's job, led to a title, and the years of properity since.  Sometimes you just have to get lucky by being unlucky.

Ainge stated at the time that the team was short on basketball IQ and he was going to change it. It's not that the Antoine change caused the domino of trading, more that he was the initial move of  the overall strategy to make changes to the makeup of the team and the overall direction of the franchise. As far as Ainge probably getting fired and him being lucky Pierce got hurt....not even close.

[KGs Knee]

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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

Sure, but Jefferson was the 15th pick because Boston made the playoffs.  West and T. Allen went 24 and 25.  They got the West pick from the Toine trade and the Allen pick in the Pistons post-season push later that season (C's got Hunter, Atkins, cash and the pick for James and Mills).  I think he probably makes the Pistons trade even if Toine was on the team (obviously Chris Mills isn't in the trade, but someone else could have been).  He might not have acquied Ricky Davis though if Toine was there.   That summer, even if Al still went 15 (and Boston didn't), Boston could have ended up with Josh Smith or JR Smith (who were 17 and 18) and probably could have purchased an extra pick if Ainge was sold on Allen and West (Kevin Martin went 26 - that is a pretty decent group for 24-26 in a draft).

Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine's game and moved him the first chance he got.  It is that sort of move that often gets Ainge into issues.  That trade caused a domino of trading where he rebuilt the team, kept them in the playoffs, but actually hurt its ability to win a title as it didn't have as much top end talent (Toine for all his flaws was still the 2nd best player to play in the Ainge regime until the Ray Allen trade).  If Pierce doesn't get hurt in the 06-07 season, then Boston doesn't end up anywhere near the top 5 and Ainge probably gets fired within a year or two.  Pierce getting hurt saved Ainge's job, led to a title, and the years of properity since.  Sometimes you just have to get lucky by being unlucky.

Ainge stated at the time that the team was short on basketball IQ and he was going to change it. It's not that the Antoine change caused the domino of trading, more that he was the initial move of  the overall strategy to make changes to the makeup of the team and the overall direction of the franchise. As far as Ainge probably getting fired and him being lucky Pierce got hurt....not even close.

Regardless of the Antoine stuff, you have to wonder, if Pierce doesn't get hurt is he even playing for the team the following season. He was rumored to be thinking about asking for a trade if the team didn't improve. How long does Ainge last if he loses Pierce?

[Monkhouse]

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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

Sure, but Jefferson was the 15th pick because Boston made the playoffs.  West and T. Allen went 24 and 25.  They got the West pick from the Toine trade and the Allen pick in the Pistons post-season push later that season (C's got Hunter, Atkins, cash and the pick for James and Mills).  I think he probably makes the Pistons trade even if Toine was on the team (obviously Chris Mills isn't in the trade, but someone else could have been).  He might not have acquied Ricky Davis though if Toine was there.   That summer, even if Al still went 15 (and Boston didn't), Boston could have ended up with Josh Smith or JR Smith (who were 17 and 18) and probably could have purchased an extra pick if Ainge was sold on Allen and West (Kevin Martin went 26 - that is a pretty decent group for 24-26 in a draft).

Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine's game and moved him the first chance he got.  It is that sort of move that often gets Ainge into issues.  That trade caused a domino of trading where he rebuilt the team, kept them in the playoffs, but actually hurt its ability to win a title as it didn't have as much top end talent (Toine for all his flaws was still the 2nd best player to play in the Ainge regime until the Ray Allen trade).  If Pierce doesn't get hurt in the 06-07 season, then Boston doesn't end up anywhere near the top 5 and Ainge probably gets fired within a year or two.  Pierce getting hurt saved Ainge's job, led to a title, and the years of properity since.  Sometimes you just have to get lucky by being unlucky.

Ainge stated at the time that the team was short on basketball IQ and he was going to change it. It's not that the Antoine change caused the domino of trading, more that he was the initial move of  the overall strategy to make changes to the makeup of the team and the overall direction of the franchise. As far as Ainge probably getting fired and him being lucky Pierce got hurt....not even close.

Regardless of the Antoine stuff, you have to wonder, if Pierce doesn't get hurt is he even playing for the team the following season. He was rumored to be thinking about asking for a trade if the team didn't improve. How long does Ainge last if he loses Pierce?

Well given that Ainge rarely loses trades, I think he would've been able to get a good prospect/young star in return for Pierce. Remember, his main goal originally to trade Pierce was because he was disgruntled and wanted to contend/join the Mavericks alongside Dirk.

If we had gotten CP3 like the original premise of the trade rumors spread, I think Ainge's job would've been secure for years to come. CP3 had plenty of MVP level seasons in his belt, and throughout his career.

[bdm860]

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'm not going to act like every move Ainge made was right, but one thing I appreciate it is he seemed to have a long term vision.

From 2003-2007 it seems like the C's were trying to rebuild while staying competitive.  Ainge wasn't afraid to tinker with a middling team to try to get assets and get the formula right.  Was every decision right, no, but it ultimately brought the C's one championship.  Let's look at every trade to see what I'm talking about:

Jun 2003:  Traded 50th pick, received 2 future 2nds
Jun 2003:  Swapped 2 firsts for 2 firsts
Jul 2003: Traded  scrubs (Bremer/Sundov) + 2nd for Jumaine Jones.  (Definitly didn't sell high on Bremer, undrafted coming off 2nd team All-Rookie).
Oct 2003: Traded Antoine, received 1st + players
Dec 2003: Traded Battie/Williams/Brown, received Davis + 2nd
Feb 2004: Facilitated Sheed from Atl-to-Det trade, received 1st
Aug 2004: Traded players, received Payton + 1st
Feb 2005: Traded McCarty, received 2nd
Feb 2005: Traded away a 1st + players, received Walker back
Feb 2005: Traded Jiri Welsch, received 1st
Aug 2005: Facilitated largest traded ever (sign-and-trade Walker), received 2 2nds
Sep 2005: Traded away a 2nd, received Dan Dickau
Jan 2006:  Traded away Ricky + 2nds + others, received Szczerbiak + 1st + others
Jun 2006: Traded away future 1st, received 1st (Rondo)
Jun 2006: Traded away future 2nd, received 2nd (Powe)
Jun 2006: Traded away 1st + others, received Telfair + 2nd +others
Oct 2006: Traded scrub (Jones), received scrub (Luke Jackson)
Jun 2007: Traded 1st (J. Green) + future 2nd + others, received Ray Allen + 2nd (Davis)
Jul 2007: Traded 2 1sts + players, received Garnett
*Counting players who were just drafted as picks, since I assume the team trading away made the pick for the team receiving.

So if got them all, and my math is right, that's 19 trades, 18 of which involved draft picks. 

In total, to get to the 2008 championship, Danny traded away 8 firsts and 6 seconds, receiving 8 firsts and 9 seconds.  Though Ainge was trying to keep the team competitive, he was also trying to acquire assets, to be ready to make big moves when the opportunity arose.

Now I wrote this next part last week when reports came out the Bucks were trying to enter the Davis sweepstakes.  They really don't have much in the way of tradeable assets, they have no picks from other teams, and already owe 2 future firsts, despite not being a contender until this year:

Hearing news like this provides me a growing appreciation of what Danny has seemingly done twice now (trading for KG in '07, and having the assets to go after Davis in '19).  Also why some people love what Hinkie accomplished in Philly.

You really need an asset accumulation phase if you're going to build a team through the draft and/or trades (i.e. not free agency), and a long term outlook.  Look at both Danny and Hinkie, constantly tinkering and making moves when they're not a contender.  Constantly acquiring picks, selling high, etc.

Look at Milwaukee.  Haven't been a contender until this year.  But what were they doing before that?  Did they sell high on anybody?  Did they acquire any picks?  Did they have any long term vision other than riding Giannis to the top?

2013 - traded away rookie Tobias Harris 28 games into 2nd year for expiring Redick.
2014 - traded away Brandon Jennings (still good!), no picks back, but did get Knight/Middleton though
2015 - traded Knight for MCW (buying high) instead of taking the Lakers pick from Phoenix.  Later traded MCW for Tony Snell, whoopee.
2015 - traded away a 1st (Anunoby) and a 2nd (Powell) for Greivis Vasquez.  A backup guard on an expiring deal, they gave away a 1st for that?
2016 - a 33 win team, no trades!
2017 - only traded for expirings and Tony Snell
2018 - traded away a 1st for Bledsoe, dumping Monroe
2019 - traded away a 1st for George Hill, dumping Dellavedova and Henson.

No long term vision.  No value for lottery picks like Jabari Parker, MCW, and now probably Thon Maker.  Most of their trades involved them sending out 1sts instead of getting them back.  Dumping several contracts that they signed (Monroe, Plumlee, Henson, Dellavedova).

These are the opposite of all the moves you want to make when you're rebuilding.

Also let's look at what probably got New Orleans to this point of Anthony Davis requesting a trade:

2012 - drafted Davis
2013 - traded away 1st
2014 - traded away 1st
2015 - traded away 1st
2016 - drafted Hield
2017 - traded away 1st
2018 - traded away 1st

All that for a team that's finished over .500 twice since they drafted Davis?  At least when teams like CLE (both runs with James), and ORL (with Howard) were constantly making short term moves to build around their stars, they were winning 50, 60+ games and going to the Finals.

I know I'm just looking at 3 out of 30 GM's here, but I love what Danny has set the Celtics up to do twice now.

[footey]

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.

Unfair to criticize him for something that didn’t happen, re Winslow. Not sure if we would be better if either George or Cousins trade happened as of today.

[Phantom255x]

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.

Unfair to criticize him for something that didn’t happen, re Winslow. Not sure if we would be better if either George or Cousins trade happened as of today.

Yeah. I wish we'd have the chance at signing Cousins for that exception before he chose GSW though. Wish he gave the C's more time.

And honestly I don't think Ainge or anyone out there imagined KD going to Golden State and screwing the league. If he had signed with us, we'd be on Cloud 9 and Golden State wouldn't be as dominant IMHO (meaning our only true threat was CLE with Lebron but we'd have Durant), but it is what it is now...

We're still in great shape thanks to Ainge!

[elcotte]

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.

I think that hindsight that presupposes picking the best player available at each draft pick is a bit unfair, particularly when Danny had just been hired.  Overall, ending up with Perk, Big Al, Delonte and Tony accelerated the rebuild.

Sure, but Jefferson was the 15th pick because Boston made the playoffs.  West and T. Allen went 24 and 25.  They got the West pick from the Toine trade and the Allen pick in the Pistons post-season push later that season (C's got Hunter, Atkins, cash and the pick for James and Mills).  I think he probably makes the Pistons trade even if Toine was on the team (obviously Chris Mills isn't in the trade, but someone else could have been).  He might not have acquied Ricky Davis though if Toine was there.   That summer, even if Al still went 15 (and Boston didn't), Boston could have ended up with Josh Smith or JR Smith (who were 17 and 18) and probably could have purchased an extra pick if Ainge was sold on Allen and West (Kevin Martin went 26 - that is a pretty decent group for 24-26 in a draft).

Ainge wasn't trying to tank, he just hated Antoine's game and moved him the first chance he got.  It is that sort of move that often gets Ainge into issues.  That trade caused a domino of trading where he rebuilt the team, kept them in the playoffs, but actually hurt its ability to win a title as it didn't have as much top end talent (Toine for all his flaws was still the 2nd best player to play in the Ainge regime until the Ray Allen trade).  If Pierce doesn't get hurt in the 06-07 season, then Boston doesn't end up anywhere near the top 5 and Ainge probably gets fired within a year or two.  Pierce getting hurt saved Ainge's job, led to a title, and the years of properity since.  Sometimes you just have to get lucky by being unlucky.

Ainge stated at the time that the team was short on basketball IQ and he was going to change it. It's not that the Antoine change caused the domino of trading, more that he was the initial move of  the overall strategy to make changes to the makeup of the team and the overall direction of the franchise. As far as Ainge probably getting fired and him being lucky Pierce got hurt....not even close.

Regardless of the Antoine stuff, you have to wonder, if Pierce doesn't get hurt is he even playing for the team the following season. He was rumored to be thinking about asking for a trade if the team didn't improve. How long does Ainge last if he loses Pierce?

There's two answers to this, First he would have what he got for Pierce's exit; and Second, Pierce didn't leave which is a credit to Ainge that Pierce bought into the plan.  It's not like there was no discussion about the future along the way.

[pearljammer10]

dude's won one title.   the ass kissing this guy gets for always next year is hilarious.   he's good,  but he's not  winning much.

One title is more than we had before him, and we’re again in striking distance.  Do you know how hard almost annual contention for a decade is?

This line of thought literally makes no sense to me.

Since Ainge took over in 2003 only 8 franchises have won an NBA title, GSW, Cleveland, San Antonio, Miami, LAL, Detroit, Dallas, and our Celtics. Only 8. That's a select group of franchises that we are lucky to be a part of in 15 years.

In 15 seasons he has constructed a team that has been under 500 only 5 times and 2 of those under 500 teams were in the post seasons. His constructed teams have missed the playoffs 3 times in 15 years.

To say he hasn't won much is literally absurd.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Question:
If we Win it all this season, would Ainge STILL trade for AD---?