Danny Ainge, the current CEO of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz, previously had a long, successful run in the front office with the Boston Celtics. During his time in Boston, Ainge became as famous for the trades he didn't make as the ones he did make. He landed Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to build a championship team, but by the end of his tenure it was a running joke that he almost landed every other good player who may or may not have been available.
On the latest episode of the Knuckleheads podcast, Ainge confirms how great he is at putting together trades that don't actually happen, telling Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, "Some of the best trades I ever made were the ones I wasn't able to make happen." It reamins unclear if Ainge is self-aware enough to know that makes no sense. Especially considering the example he gives of a great trade that never happened.
Apparently, the Celtics could have had peak regular season Jimmy Butler for two first round picks that ended up being Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but Boston didn't do it.
We really need to have more executives who talk glowingly about the trades they made that they didn't actually make. Too many basketball executives let these rumors die in the dark. Let's brag more about the things you didn't do!
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Danny Ainge Really Still Bragging About Trades That Never Happened With the Celtics.
