What do you do when you've written a scathing column about someone, condemning his every action and questioning his moral integrity as a human being ... and then, just like at the end of "Dumb and Dumber," he goes and totally redeems himself. Well, in my situation, now that Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge has been vindicated, I owe it to the guy to applaud his work over the past year and announce my residency back on his bandwagon. Am I the average idiot sports fan, or did this guy actually have a master plan of how to run an NBA franchise? As one of his harshest critics, I'm compelled to acknowledge that his general managing skills, amazingly ... somehow ... perhaps accidentally ... were a few steps above par.
Without verbalizing it, Ainge acknowledged his greatest mistake as a general manager by bringing Antoine Walker back to the Celtics at the trade deadline a few weeks ago. He didn't have to publicly state that he shouldn't have traded the soul of the team before the 2003-04 season. By bringing him back, he let go of any stubbornness or pride, and more importantly took the risk of destroying any existing chemistry on the team, as well as being the target of intense media scrutiny. The trade was remarkable for several reasons, the most salient being that Walker was obtained for virtually nothing. The main piece of the trade, Gary Payton, was re-signed by the Celts just days later. Ainge looked like the biggest weasel in the league, and had several executives questioning the legality of how he was able to reacquire Payton.
Yet, legitimate or not, Ainge was undoubtedly the biggest winner of the trade deadline. Practically every NBA analyst in the country has asserted that the Celtics got the biggest steal, walking away with value while giving away nothing (Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart and a 2nd round draft pick) in return. The Chris Webber trade stole the headlines, but both Philadelphia and Sacramento have since underperformed, while the Celtics have soared. This particular trade-deadline deal has had more impact than any other.
Ainge has now constructed the deepest and most solid nine-man rotation in the entire Eastern Conference. Basketball minds have always stated that, his G.M. skills notwithstanding, he has an excellent eye for talent. After the 2004 draft, we realized that he has one of the best. The finest Celtics draft in over a decade saw the team swipe up two future all-stars (Al Jefferson and Tony Allen) and a solid NBA point guard in Delonte West. Those picks could not have been more successful for the team, as these rookies log regular minutes and are solid contributors, even in crunch time. The Celtics, the joke of the Boston sports world recently, have now garnered the attention of the fans of New England's other championship teams, and have surprised basketball fans across the country, all because of their wily general manager.
As for Walker, he now is one of the hottest topics for hoops sports columns. I don't think it's unfair to say that his acquisition is this year's version of Rasheed Wallace joining the Detroit Pistons. The team is 9-1 since his return, including wins over the best team in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns, and the defending champion Pistons. Marc Stein has the C's as the eighth-best team in the NBA in his weekly Power Rankings, and this is with 80 percent of the season complete. Several weeks ago, they were not even ranked inside the top 20. Paul Pierce, named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, is playing like "The Truth" again for the first time since Walker left. All the young guys finally have the inspirational leader that Pierce refused to be.
Some may find it a little coincidental that only after I wrote the negative column singling out Danny Ainge that he began making good decisions and improving his track record as a G.M. Was I too quick to criticize? Does he read these columns and incorporate my advice into his strategy? Does he finally just "get it"? And should I be running the Celtics? No one will ever really know the answers to these questions. All we can be sure of is that if he starts tinkering again and trades Pierce and 'Toine for Mark Madsen and Chris Anderson, I will personally exorcise him in my next column, which will be my most scathing one yet. Watch your back, Ainge, you're still not off the hook.
Marc Lanza '06 would now be willing to drive cross country with Danny Ainge on a moped anytime.
