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Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge has had his fair share of criticism over the years, however, to his pleasure the trade for Kevin Garnett and banner 17 erased many of Ainge's poor decisions. We could talk about the Brian Scalabrine over-paying incident, the trade for Wally Szczerbiak, or the Sebastian Telfair acquisition, however I wanted to take a look back at Ainge's drafting; hence the title of this article; "Picking the Right Ainge" for you people who don't get it, I replace 'Ainge' with 'range'. "Oh now that's clever." As I get into the breakdowns over the years, since 2003, to be exact, you will find that Ainge's greatest success has come with the later draft selections. We'll get to one a day, so stay tuned.
2003 Draft
Round 1: Pick 13: Marcus Banks [PG; UNLV]
The University of Las Vegas product was thought to be the player that Rajon Rondo has turned into today. Banks was acquired via trade with the Memphis Grizzles on draft day. Banks never did grasp the concept of being a point guard in this league. The shot selection of Banks was below par for a point guard and his overall understanding of the game left a lot to be desired. Banks left on bad terms as he was traded to the Lakers for Gary Payton to end up coming back to Boston as Payton failed a physical. Banks is currently on the Miami Heat.
Round 1: Pick 27: Kendrick Perkins [C; Ozen High School]
If you would have told me back in 2003 that Perkins would be a starter on a championship ridden Celtics team, I would have laughed. You probably would have too. Perkins was a young, mammoth of a teenager when he was traded to Boston from the Dallas Mavericks but Perkins has put in the work year in and year out and has molded himself into a legit starting center in this league. At just 24 years old, Perkins has found niche' playing along side Kevin Garnett and point guard Rajon Rondo. One of my first memories of Perkins came in the 2004-2005 season playoffs against the Indiana Pacers where Paul Pierce got ejected from the game to see Perkins miss both free throws. As we know, the Celtics would go on to lose. Danny Ainge did a nice job in finding Perkins, as he came out of high school, and he's done a better job in keeping him around to see him develop.
Round 2: Pick 56: Brandon Hunter [PF; Ohio]
Hunter played in 36 games as a rookie for the Celtics before being drafted by the Bobcats in the expansion draft. Hunter was a solid player and it was pretty odd to see him leave so quickly. Hunter is currently playing overseas.
Overall Grade: C +
Anytime you can get a mainstay starter the draft is good, especially in the NBA draft. However, Ainge did miss with Banks, but who are we to complain? We have Rondo. Perkins will only get better, but you do wonder whether or not he is the center for the future with the Celtics.
Final Notes
It's worth noting that the Celtics, and Ainge, drafted Troy Bell from Boston College and Dahntay Jones of Duke, however both players were traded for Banks and Perkins. Bell is out of the league and Jones was actually in camp with the Celtics last year before being released.
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Saturday, 29 November 2008
Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge has had his fair share of criticism over the years, however, to his pleasure the trade for Kevin Garnett...
© 2010 - New England Sports Blog
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