Today in Celtics history: Johnson born, Montross drafted, Pinckney traded

Today, June 29th, 2017 is the 36th birthday of former Boston Celtics wingman Joe Johnson.


Johnson, who was drafted 10th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Celtics after two seasons of college ball at Arkansas, spent just one season in Boston, averaging 6.3 points and 1.5 assists per game over the 48 games he played for the club before being traded to the Phoenix Suns with Milt Palacio, Randy Brown, and a first-round pick in exchange for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk. "ISO Joe" would go on to seven All-Star appearances after joining the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, and has had stints with the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz since.


Today is also the 23rd anniversary of the Celtics drafting former North Carolina center Eric Montross in the 1994 NBA Draft. Montross had a promising rookie season with the Celts, making All-Rookie Second Team behind a 10 points and 7.3 boards per game rookie campaign, but slipped significantly his sophomore season, and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with a first-round pick for a pair of picks that would be used to select Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer in 1996 and 1997, respectively.


Finally, today also happens to be the 23rd anniversary of the trade which sent Ed Pinckney and Andrei Fetisov to the Milwaukee Bucks on the same day Montross was drafted. The deal sent back Blue Edwards and Derek Strong, who each only played one season with the Celtics at a level comparable to Ed's better years. Pinkney, who was never more than a rotation player - though a valuable one, to be sure - had begun to slip in production before being traded, and the return was probably a good one considering. However, he'd have a slight resurgence with the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers before retiring after a season with the Heat in 1997.

For more stories about the offseason on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.



Data via basketball-reference.com
Follow Justin at @justinquinnn
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