For the first time since Ainge has been a general manager of the Boston we will not make a trade in the regular season. Since his being brought here in 2003 he has traded any combination o Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Eric Williams, Tony Battie, Kedrick Brown Mark Blount, Walter McCarty, Ricky Davis, Chucky Atkins, Mike James, Jiri Welsch and has received any combination of Antoine Walker, Ricky Davis, Wally Szczerbiak, Chucky Atkins, Jiri Welsch and Gary Payton.
In that time he has used the various low end picks he has acquired in these trades and our own picks to draft the likes of Delonte West, Tony Allen, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo and Al Jefferson. All but one of these picks are averaging at least 10 PPG, and Gerlad Green is averagingjust under 10 PPG, and is a sharp shooter from the 3 point line. Al Jefferson is averaging a double double, Rajon Rondo is an emerging stellar playmaker. This is a nice core of players who are beginning to compliment the likes of Paul Pierce the All-Star very well. The unique thing about these players is that none of them were lottery choices, all of them picks by teams that were in the playoffs, including our own. It appears we have a core of players that can function well.
So it should come as no surprise that Doc Rivers recently told the media that he isn’t expecting any trades during the season, and that Danny Ainge is happy to see what the lottery offers him. With that group of players I just mentioned he accomplished the two goals he set out to accomplish: to make the team younger and more athletic. With the likes of a potentially very young draft choice he can do the same thing in this draft as well.
Ainge had a tough task ahead of the 2003 season. It had just been swept in the second round. Antoine Walker was the playoff dunce, while the team that made a good run in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before did not have Kenny Anderson, Erick Strickland, or Rodney Rogers. Solid contributors Tony Delk, Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and others clearly were not gonna take over the team and we weren’t getting any younger, and Walker just wasn’t cutting it as a franchise player. So he accomplished his roster overhaul, and got rid of players that were either at the end of the spiral down or were heading there.
Despite the record Ainge is sitting pretty, he has a core of young players that many GMs have acquired and has a high draft pick in a very deep draft. Next year is gonna be the do or die year for Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge. This is the roster they wanted. Big Al will be in his fourth year, Allen will be a more mature fourth year player, they have proven they are talented but can they win even just a little bit? This current roster and the draft pick will definitely go along way to show if no trades at the deadline will be worth it.
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