Danny Ainge Appreciation Thread

[lon3lytoaster]

It’s the trades you don’t make. Really cool seeing Danny this direct and honest on what was and wasn’t there trade wise.

I don't remember Tatum ever being in any serious trade rumors. I DO remember Danny wanted to trade a slew of picks (5) to move up in the 2015 draft to take Justice Winslow but thankfully the Hornets and one other team if I remember correctly, were even dumber and turned Danny down.

I think Danny meant the picks that turned into Tatum and Brown were on the table for Jimmy Butler. Most likely it was during the 2016 draft. Fans were expecting we’d get Butler in exchange for the 2016 3rd pick ++. Main reason why there were boos when they announced Jaylen as the pick.

Yes, I remember that draft pretty well. It was a considered quite bad, especially after the Top-2. Some folks wanted Murray, some wanted Bender, others were all on the Kris Dunn band wagon but most were very bullish on trading that pick specifically for Butler, and like you said, booed Jaylen because the pick wasn't traded more than because he was who was drafted.

Good on Danny for not throwing both picks in.

[redslastlaugh]

Bumping this thread after watching some Scheierman, Walsh and Davison tonight.

I think I don’t give Danny enough credit for how flexible and creative and successful he was as a drafter.
Danny readily found impactful NBA players in almost every mold.

2003: Kendrick Perkins, a physical beast of an enforcer center
2004: Al Jefferson, an advanced footwork low post PF
2004: Delonte West, a smooth shoot-dribble-pass lefty combo guard
2004: Tony Allen, a non-shooter athlete of a 2-guard defensive player
2005: Gerald Green, a threes and dunks 6-8 elite athlete
2006: Rajon Rondo, a speedy assist-maestro PG who couldn’t shoot
2007: Big Baby, a tubby 320 lb, 6-8 power forward with quick feet
2010: Avery Bradley, combo defensive guard
2011: Jajuan Johnson, a 6-11 pick-and-pop string bean PF
2013: Kelly Olynyk, stretch big with passing and footwork
2014: Marcus Smart, physical defender PG, questionable jumper
2015: Terry Rozier, springy, undersized scoring combo guard
2016: Jaylen 6-7 elite athletic wing
2017: Jayson elite 6-9 athletic wing
2018: Rob Williams, elite rim-running dunks-and-blocks big
2019: Grant Williams, undersized 6-7 stout frontcourt player
2020: Payton Pritchard, scrappy 4yr white PG shooter

and so forth …

This list represents almost every type of player you’d find on a NBA team. Danny really was willing to take a chance on every archetype of player and was just fundamentally a really creative drafter.

Olynyk, Smart, Rozier, Brown, Tatum, Robert Williams, Grant, Payton Pritchard in eight consecutive first rounds … and there were some misses (Romeo, James Young) in those years as well … but this run of first round selections is pretty dang impressive. It is impressive for the productivity but also the diversity of the kinds of players he selected.

And this isn’t to knock Brad, because Brad hasn’t taken many cracks at the draft. And I have hopes remaining for Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman to become good players and have good NBA careers, but what Danny did as a drafter was pretty special.

You can be mad at me, criticize me or whatever, but I still love Danny. The confidence, the charisma, and what he left us with, he drafted: Tatum/Brown/ R. Williams/ G. Williams/ Smart/Pritchard and he initially signed Horfie(which imo helped the trade for Horfie to return to Boston). To sum it up- Danny DRAFTED a starting five in Smart/Brown/Tatum/Williams/Williams that could win around 60 games in the current NBA with a decent supporting cast.

[ConstableGeneva]

I would still take turning 1sts into Holiday, Horford, and White over anyone Danny has drafted not named Tatum and Brown even though Smart will always hold a special place in my heart haha.

[Fencer reregistered]

I would still take turning 1sts into Holiday, Horford, and White over anyone Danny has drafted not named Tatum and Brown even though Smart will always hold a special place in my heart haha.

The pick used on Al Jefferson was turned into KG.

[ConstableGeneva]

I would still take turning 1sts into Holiday, Horford, and White over anyone Danny has drafted not named Tatum and Brown even though Smart will always hold a special place in my heart haha.

The pick used on Al Jefferson was turned into KG.

Who is KG?

[Fencer reregistered]

I would still take turning 1sts into Holiday, Horford, and White over anyone Danny has drafted not named Tatum and Brown even though Smart will always hold a special place in my heart haha.

The pick used on Al Jefferson was turned into KG.

Who is KG?

A tall power forward also known as "Ticket".

[ConstableGeneva]

The tags aren't working for whatever reason.

Anyway, thank you Danny: https://i.ibb.co/VbbjmLb/IMG-0054.jpg

[Curmudgeon]

Where was Giannis in all of that wonderful drafting?