Danny Ainge Makes the Worst Trade Since the Boston Celtics Traded Him Away

I was a college sophomore living in Boston when the Celtics traded Danny Ainge to the Sacramento Kings for Joe Kleine and Ed Pickney. While the Celtics still had their championship lineup from earlier years (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish) and had other great players in their system, it seemed at the time that they had let go of the only player who had the potential to elevate them back to the championship level. And, in fact, it proved to be true. They wouldn’t experience another championship for another 20 years largely as a result of the trade.

Last night, the Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving. Irving is a very good player and still very young. However, because he has always played in a system built around LeBron James, an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime player who has made average support players look like superstars, we really don’t know if Irving can lead a team. It is questionable whether trading Irving for Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round draft pick would have been a fair trade for Boston. But, Boston’s GM, Danny Ainge, also gave away Isaiah Thomas, the only true superstar that the Celtics have seen in the last 5 years and a proven leader who got them to the Eastern Conference championship last year.

Dreadful move by the Celtics.