Danny Ainge: Executive of the Year?


Draft day:  Terry Rozier? Who? We should've got Sam Dekker.
Current day:  Rozier most recently dropped 29 in a Game 1 playoff game against Philadelphia.

Draft day:  Jaylen Brown? Really? What a stretch for the #3 pick. He was supposed to be there at #10. I can't believe we passed on Dragan Bender.
Current day:  Jaylen dropped 34 earlier against Milwaukee in a playoff game, while playing stellar defense on the opposition's top players.

Draft Day: Hey, Danny. Thanks. We finally get the #1 pick and you trade it away because you say the guy you want at #3 is who you'd take at #1, huh? Well, Markelle Fultz won't be there at #3.
Current day: Jayson Tatum, well, I think we all know how Danny came up on this move.

Even NBA legend Dr. J, a former member of the very team Boston is battling with right now, spoke highly of our most recent pick today on ESPN.

Tatum probably should have been the first pick in the draft. Tatum has been awesome...it just seems as though when you get a player who can raise the level of their game at playoff time, you've got something special.

Celtics fans have been yelling at Danny for years, often mocking him during trade deadlines with jabs like: "Man, I can't wait to see who we almost could've maybe had at the deadline." But time after time, Danny's gotten the last laugh. And we as fans get to eat the sweet fruits of his labor.

Here's a question: how many of you are glad we didn't trade Scary Terry for Serge Ibaka?

How many of you are pleased we didn't trade the farm for Jimmy Butler or Paul George? Quick reminder: had we done so, Kyrie more than likely would not be on the Celtics.

The old adage in the NBA goes: "sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."

That's true in Danny's case. It's also true for the one's he has made.

As a recap, fearless Danny Ainge turned Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo into Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. Plus another upcoming lottery pick. One can even argue that, had Ainge held onto his aging veterans, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford potentially wouldn't have signed.

Danny Ainge has managed to form one of the youngest teams in the league. That team is not only built to contend for today, but for years to come.

One week from today will mark Danny's 15th anniversary as the Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations. Here's what Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach said on the day of Danny's hiring:

In the tradition of the Celtics family, it's a coup to get this guy. This guy will get it done. He's very bright, and he's lucky, too.

A coup indeed, Red.

Executive of the Year? Yeah. But I say he should also win Executive of the Decade.

Follow Edward Babaian on Twitter: @bojixbabaian

Photo Credit: Boston.com