It has been a number of seasons since Danny Ainge last served as the Celtics’ president.
Although he now holds an executive position at the Jazz organization, he still looks back fondly on his time in Boston.
Ainge, who was a key player on Boston’s championship teams in the 1980s and later ran the franchise for 18 years, recently discussed his best trades when reflecting on his tenure.
In particular, he revealed the potential trade that could have brought current Eastern Conference player Jimmy Butler to Boston, but the asking price from the Chicago Bulls was too high.
Ainge explained how this would have required trading away Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who were selected with draft picks the Celtics obtained instead.
“Some of the best trades I ever made were the ones that I wasn’t able to make,” Ainge told Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles on the Knuckleheads podcast. “You know, like I was trying to get Jimmy Butler from Chicago when I was in Boston, but they wanted a lot. And so we didn’t do it. Because it would’ve, and it ended up would’ve been Jaylen [Brown] and Jayson [Tatum]. Both those draft picks … that we got Jaylen and Jayson with, so that was one that like I loved Jimmy and I was trying to get him …could’ve drafted Jimmy late, I liked him even then. But like now, he’d be proving how good of a player he was. Yeah, that was probably one.”
“Some of the best trades I ever made were the ones I wasn’t able to make.” ?
Danny Ainge reveals plans of bringing Jimmy Butler to Boston to @QRich and @21Blackking.
Y’all don’t want to miss this one. #Knuckleheads. Tap in TOMORROW. pic.twitter.com/CZMqhDZPvC
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) August 14, 2023
Ainge expressed his admiration for Butler and regretted not being able to acquire him, especially now that he has proven his worth as a player.
However, considering the Celtics’ current situation with Brown and Tatum as their cornerstone wing players, Ainge believes that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.
Brown, selected with the third pick in the 2016 draft, recently signed a record-breaking contract extension, while Tatum, chosen with the third pick in 2017, will be eligible for a supermax contract extension in the upcoming offseason.
Despite missing out on Butler and witnessing his success with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last season, Ainge believes that building around two promising young players was the right decision for the Celtics.
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