With the draft now upon us, it is time to look back at some of the top moments from the Boston Celtics draft history dating all the way back to the 1950s.
From Auerbach to Ainge…
The Top 5 draft moments in Boston Celtics history
No. 5: Danny Ainge’s draft night heist with the Nets turns into the Jays
Two months. That is how long into the 2013/2014 campaign it took for Brooklyn Nets fans to realize the Celtics had put their franchise in a deep hole.
By 2013 it was clear that the Boston Celtics’ core of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were well out of their prime. Danny Ainge, using that wisdom pulled the trigger on one of the most shocking trades in the franchise’s history. Boston said farewell to both Garnett and Pierce, two other players including Jason Terry for four Brooklyn Nets, three first-round picks, and a 2017 pick swap. People trashed the deal on draft night, but Wyc Grousbeck and Ainge’s persistence to earn that pick swap in 2017 would turn into the C’s future franchise cornerstone.
Grousbeck recalled the draft night when the trade went down many years later:
"“Go get a fourth pick. I think these guys have deal fever — we’re going to keep going until they say no.”"
Brooklyn’s swiftness in providing Boston with an answer that night proved to be its downfall.
With the Boston Celtics sitting atop the draft board in 2017, Ainge punished another Eastern Conference foe, trading the No. 1 overall pick for No. 3 and a future first-rounder. Markelle Fultz may be reviving his career in Orlando, but the former Washington guard failed in the City of Brotherly Love. Boston, on the other hand, took the eventual two-time All-NBA First-Team player two selections lower than the 76ers who secured a player who has a career 3-point shooting average in the NBA lower than 28%. That deal Ainge made with Brooklyn created the core of the team that we see today.
Jaylen Brown is in Boston via the No. 3 pick in 2016 while that pick swap gave way for Ainge to lock up Jayson Tatum. When you think of recent draft moments, the former President of Basketball Operations’ guts to get this deal done is second to none.