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Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread

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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#61 » by GWVan » Fri Jun 4, 2021 3:02 pm

I'm ashamed that we can muster only three pages of thanks for a great championship player and gm for the team.
It's like you all forgot how much things sucked before he got here, or maybe you were not a fan then.

Thank you Danny!
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#62 » by captain green » Fri Jun 4, 2021 9:18 pm

Thanks for getting kg to the Celtics thanks for drafting brown and tatum.
Piss on you though for drafting g. will and edwarfs also I wanted 19 banners by the time you were gone but 1 ain't bad especially since boston is not a destination city
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#63 » by Roland2000 » Fri Jun 4, 2021 10:02 pm

Excellent....Cut-throat....Would have traded his own mother. Danny Ainge did a fine job. No complaints from me. He set the Celts up very nicely...in the past and for the future. We are in good shape....Most of the credit goes to Ainge.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#64 » by grantlongforpresident » Sat Jun 5, 2021 12:48 am

I actually think the Celtics are making a mistake by getting rid of him, if that is what happened.

I think he’s a better than average GM so I’d keep him around.

I’d say his initial moves were very questionable (trading for lafrenz and his huge deal, trading walker... then giving up a first to get him back, almost trading Pierce).

Then he went on an absolute roll building up the championship team.

Then he tore it down at the right time and set up the team really well (Tatum, Brown)

Finally in the past couple years his moves haven’t panned out.

Overall I’d give him a good grade. 1 championship in 18 or so years is better than average (1/30 is avg).
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#65 » by return2glory » Sun Jun 6, 2021 9:11 pm

Thank you Danny!

People for get how bad the 1990-2003 Celtic teams were before Danny took over.

15 playoff appearances in his 18 years. All the ECF. 2 finals appearances and 1 title.

Thank you for KG and Ray. For drafting Rondo. Then for drafting Tatum and Brown. The IT trade that made the team fun. Thanks for Brad.

Kyrie trade was a disaster and the beginning of the end. The luck ran out with the Hayward injury. A lot of the draft picks towards the end were bad. Yabs, Hunter, James Young, Zizic. Not to mention the drafting of undersized players like Edwards and Waters when he had Kemba. And a 6’6 PF.

But overall Danny was good. A solid B.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#66 » by darrendaye » Sun Jun 6, 2021 10:20 pm

GWVan wrote:I'm ashamed that we can muster only three pages of thanks for a great championship player and gm for the team.
It's like you all forgot how much things sucked before he got here, or maybe you were not a fan then.

Thank you Danny!


Very thankful for his overall body of work. But speaking for myself, it's going to take a bit of time to get over him leaving after how he managed the past couple of off-seasons.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#67 » by gocelts » Sun Jun 6, 2021 10:34 pm

One of the best GMs in the NBA. It’s s shame the fans won’t see it until now that he’s gone.

If your paying attention to the rest of the NBA, you’ll know finding a GM better than Danny is freaking almost impossible to do.

This fan base is spoiled rotten from his championship and competitive rebuild with Tatum and Brown.....

fingers crossed thst Stevens doesn’t turn into Pitino 2.0...
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#68 » by Elrod is Back » Mon Jun 7, 2021 8:00 pm

Danny has drafted as well as anyone in the league. Look at the no. 1 picks in the post-Big Three era, since the rebuild began in earnest:

2013--Kelly Olynyk
2014--Marcus Smart, James Young
2015--Terry Rozier, RJ Hunter
2016--Jaylen Brown, Gersshon Yabusele, Ante Zizic
2017--Jayson Tatum
2018--Robert Williams
2019--Romeo Langford, Grant Williams
2020--Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard

To accurately gauge these 14 draft picks you have to deal with whether that are high, middle or low first rounders. The degree of difficulty in drafting increases sharply as you draft lower in a round. And some years, like 2016, are utterly putrid. As fate would have it, Danny had like 7 picks in that draft. Bummer.

2 picks in the top 3, third overall each time...both grand slam home runs over the centerfield fence, right out of the ball park. If every other pick Danny made sucked, these two alone have set the team up for the next decade. And don't forget, in both 2016 and 2017 there were lots of people demanding that Danny select people like Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn and Markelle Fultz. In redrafts of 2016 Jaylen goes no lower than 3, and may end up as 1 before the dust settles. Jayson is now and will be regarded as the no. 1 player in the 2017 draft.

1 pick in the 4-10 range: Marcus Smart, no. 6 overall. In a redraft Marcus goes as high as 4, no lower than 6. That includes Jokic who was drafted in the 2nd round. So superb job Danny.

6 picks in the 11-20 range. Two bowwows in James Young (2014) and Guerschon Yabusele (2016). Danny swung and missed on Young and the 2016 draft sucked monkey balls, so it wasn't like there were a lot of great options out there. Terry Rozier was a great pick in 2015 and will have a much longer and better career than most players picked in the mid first round. In a 2015 redraft Rozier would be in the top 10 easily. Likewise, Kelly Olynyk would likely be picked higher than 13th in a redraft for 2013. It was a solid pick in a relatively weak draft.

The jury is still out on the last two picks in the mid-first round, Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith, both selected at 14 in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Color me optimistic they will have solid and fairly long careers if they remain healthy. It is not out of the question that they could have very good careers.

Here is a hot take for you: Remember all those people whining about how awful it was that the Cs just missed on Tyler Herro in the 2019 draft and got stuck with deadbeat Romeo? There is a chancre we will be hearing a lot less from them in time.

5 picks in that 20-30 range of the first round. This is where most players flop and Danny's record is still defensible, at least league average, and it will take ti,me to really know, since the best three picks in that range still in the league are all very young and on the Cs roster: Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard. If healthy Robert Williams will go down as a spectacularly good selection. The jury is out on Grant W and Pritchard. But none will be a washout.

The same cannot be said for RJ Hunter (2015) and Ante Zizic (2016). Both are out of the league now. But it bears repeating that most players drafted in the 20s do not have functional careers. These are like 4th-6th round picks in the NFL draft.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#69 » by Shak_Celts » Mon Jun 7, 2021 8:23 pm

Danny was on that BS with his recent comments but I still don't like that he retired. I hope it's just for the face and he will still pull strings behind closed doors.

Danny was great at his job. PERIOD!


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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#70 » by radcot » Tue Jun 8, 2021 12:27 am

I think the C's should retire Danny's number. Key member of two Championship/4 Finals teams and the architect of the only championship we've had since the '80s. IMO the second best GM in Celtics history. Way better credentials than some whose numbers are already hanging in the rafters.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#71 » by grantlongforpresident » Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:14 am

Elrod is Back wrote:Danny has drafted as well as anyone in the league. Look at the no. 1 picks in the post-Big Three era, since the rebuild began in earnest:

2013--Kelly Olynyk
2014--Marcus Smart, James Young
2015--Terry Rozier, RJ Hunter
2016--Jaylen Brown, Gersshon Yabusele, Ante Zizic
2017--Jayson Tatum
2018--Robert Williams
2019--Romeo Langford, Grant Williams
2020--Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard

To accurately gauge these 14 draft picks you have to deal with whether that are high, middle or low first rounders. The degree of difficulty in drafting increases sharply as you draft lower in a round. And some years, like 2016, are utterly putrid. As fate would have it, Danny had like 7 picks in that draft. Bummer.

2 picks in the top 3, third overall each time...both grand slam home runs over the centerfield fence, right out of the ball park. If every other pick Danny made sucked, these two alone have set the team up for the next decade. And don't forget, in both 2016 and 2017 there were lots of people demanding that Danny select people like Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn and Markelle Fultz. In redrafts of 2016 Jaylen goes no lower than 3, and may end up as 1 before the dust settles. Jayson is now and will be regarded as the no. 1 player in the 2017 draft.

1 pick in the 4-10 range: Marcus Smart, no. 6 overall. In a redraft Marcus goes as high as 4, no lower than 6. That includes Jokic who was drafted in the 2nd round. So superb job Danny.

6 picks in the 11-20 range. Two bowwows in James Young (2014) and Guerschon Yabusele (2016). Danny swung and missed on Young and the 2016 draft sucked monkey balls, so it wasn't like there were a lot of great options out there. Terry Rozier was a great pick in 2015 and will have a much longer and better career than most players picked in the mid first round. In a 2015 redraft Rozier would be in the top 10 easily. Likewise, Kelly Olynyk would likely be picked higher than 13th in a redraft for 2013. It was a solid pick in a relatively weak draft.

The jury is still out on the last two picks in the mid-first round, Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith, both selected at 14 in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Color me optimistic they will have solid and fairly long careers if they remain healthy. It is not out of the question that they could have very good careers.

Here is a hot take for you: Remember all those people whining about how awful it was that the Cs just missed on Tyler Herro in the 2019 draft and got stuck with deadbeat Romeo? There is a chancre we will be hearing a lot less from them in time.

5 picks in that 20-30 range of the first round. This is where most players flop and Danny's record is still defensible, at least league average, and it will take ti,me to really know, since the best three picks in that range still in the league are all very young and on the Cs roster: Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard. If healthy Robert Williams will go down as a spectacularly good selection. The jury is out on Grant W and Pritchard. But none will be a washout.

The same cannot be said for RJ Hunter (2015) and Ante Zizic (2016). Both are out of the league now. But it bears repeating that most players drafted in the 20s do not have functional careers. These are like 4th-6th round picks in the NFL draft.


Good post. I think he’s an excellent drafter.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#72 » by Ill News » Thu Jun 10, 2021 10:26 am

His past few years don't look good, but his overall career as a GM has to be considered one of the best ever. The only things that prevented him from winning multiple championships are unlucky injuries. I mean, look at everything he's done for the Celtics:

- Assembled the Big 3 of KG, Pierce, and Allen
- Drafted Rajon Rondo
- Flipped KG and Pierce for a war chest of picks
- Convinced Brad Stevens to coach the team
- Got IT from Phoenix for basically nothing
- Drafted Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in back-to-back drafts
- Snared three big free agents in Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, and Kemba Walker

Ainge was one hell of a dealer, and he nearly facilitated the greatest rebuild of all time. Apart from injuries to key players though, what torpedoed his grand plan after the Big 3 era was failing to get that true superstar. He was always targeting Durant or AD, and his dealings had made the franchise an attractive place for a superstar to roost in, but ultimately it just wasn't enticing enough for them to come here (Klutch stealing AD helped too).

Ainge eventually drafted a future superstar in Tatum (by swindling the Sixers), but unfortunately his timeline didn't match with the other stars he had brought in, which led to a massive talent drain these past two years.

All in all, Ainge's GM tenure in Boston should be remembered for his master strokes. They were all just undone by injuries, bad luck, and sports agents steering stars away from us. Hopefully Brad has half the balls that Ainge had as GM, because Ainge tried like hell to bring more banners to Boston. Don't let the last 2-3 years tell you otherwise.

I'll miss you, Danny. You saved the Celtics from the awful rut it was in during the 90s. Thank you for everything!
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#73 » by bruno sundov » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:32 pm

Danny was great for the Celtics. Made them relative again. Thanks for banner 17.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#74 » by ZeroTolerance » Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:11 pm

As a player, and a top GM...and a good human being....Thanks Danny!
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#75 » by GregB » Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:57 pm

Thanks Danny for helping us get Banner 17 I thought we would get a few more before you left. But I hope you enjoy your family and retirement. You will always be loved in Boston.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#76 » by moonie_mcgee » Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:13 pm

I appreciate his retirement :lol:
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#77 » by playa-hater » Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:22 am

Danny Ainge's GM career reminds me of my 10 year old's report card.

he got an A+ A+ B+ C- and a F :(
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#78 » by cl2117 » Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:55 am

Danny was legit. Top GM during his entire stretch. Got us a banner and leaving us in a great position as well.

My main criticism for him was his tunnel vision. He had his eyes set on AD for so long as a FA target that he missed some other opportunities. Then the first time he properly cashes in some chips via Kyrie, he gets burned pretty bad and made him a bit gun shy. I still had faith in him all the way through to the end, but gotta concede that some times you gotta shake things up even if just to get rid of some of the narratives that dog you. I hope Zarren takes on a more prominent role because that braintrust was something special.

This is the appreciation thread though. The OG big 3 was the pinnacle of my Celtics fandom. Ainge made magic happen there when the C's could have realistically way more easily gone down the tubes and wasted the rest of PP's career. Then he kept leveraging that success fo the next decade plus. The BKN trade will live in infamy for all-time. The fast yet slow paced rebuild that followed was a gift that most don't appreciate. Not having to tank and "trust the process", but instead competing as a plucky underdog while still building was an amazing followup to the beautiful but brief Big 3 era. Trading scraps for IT and giving us a MVP caliber season to cheer for. Nailing his top picks with Smart/Brown/Tatum and the crown jewel of those moves being the Philly/Fultz deal that was a stroke of genius. Injuries derailed a lot of things, but even still we did well enough.

Ainge wasn't infallible, but he was fun and active and more often than not successful. That's the ideal GM.

Excited to see what follows on from here. C's are still incredibly well positioned for the future. Part of the negativity surrounding the team has been based around expectations from what Danny had amassed in his warchest to where the team is now. Hopefully this clears that slate a bit as well as our relationships with teams that were afraid of getting burnt by Trader Danny.

Hats off to DA. Thanks for the memories.

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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#79 » by hickfromfrenchlick » Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:11 pm

Darth Celtic wrote:people are mad that nets passed us? What was he supposed to do? He can't change boston the city to New York, LA, or Miami.

it is what it is. With what we can work with, Danny was a miracle worker. He leaves with 2 young superstars locked up long term with a team that hasn't missed the playoffs in nearly a decade and won't miss for another decade barring a season even worse than this one with injuries.

Stevens has to do what he couldn't do as a coach, have a minority head coach of the celtics. Probably helps that most of the most qualified candidates are.


There's nothing more irrelevant or silly than pointing to how good the Nets are. Brooklyn is the beneficiary of banana boat shenanigans, period.
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Re: Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread 

Post#80 » by La Flame » Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:00 pm

Thank you Danny! Boston legend for sure!
Last years didnt work out at all, although the initial moves were great. Didn't account at all for too many gunners being in contract years + Brad having 0 authority to handle them, Danny should have seen that one. Also I think it's been like 10 years since he took a real solid big man in the draft or FA before Horford. I started watching NBA at around 09, became a fan of Celts by 2010 and ever since then I remember that KG lacked real front court help as he got older.
His non-high lottery drafting fell off ever since he took Olynyk over Giannis for who he himself flew to Greece to see and called him a 2nd Pippen smh. But those are just some negatives, nobody is perfect, he was a top 3 GM for a pretty long time and slowly started falling off, while still pulling off smart moves. Hopefully Zarren will run things more than Brad going forward.

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