My Beef With Danny Ainge - Part 1

As the current competitive situation of the Boston Celtics relative to the rest of the league has been described thoroughly and accurately by my colleague, I would like to revisit last year's NBA season and the mid-season trade made by the Celtics that prematurely dismantled a core group that had all the ingredients of a championship contender.  To name a few; veteran experience, defensive grit, arguably the best point guard in the league with a steadily improving jump shot (point guards are not conventionally supposed to be the primary scoring option on a team despite the current trend in the NBA today) not arguably the best jump shooter in the history of the sport of basketball, Paul Pierce (no superfluous characterization needed), effective role players, a fully healthy Kevin Garnett, and most importantly cohesiveness.  The Celtics had an extremely successful first half of the 2010-2011 season and were deemed by many experts to be atop the list of favorites to win the NBA championship.  As of February 22nd the Celtics were 41-14 and had defeated every other elite team in the league at least once (The Miami Heat twice, both times in convincing fashion; they would later fall to Miami in the playoffs) Furthermore, they were fully healthy for the first time in a long while.  Everything seemed dandy in Beantown.  


What happened next was inexplicable.  The Celtics starting center Kendrick Perkins, who had been with the team since the very beginning of his NBA career and was feared around the league for his toughness and defensive prowess in the paint, as well as his size and length (I can't even count how many times I witnessed him SHUT DOWN Dwight Howard without any double team, a few times in person) was traded.  I was personally in a state of disbelief when I heard the news.  Initially I was in denial, due to the fact that I first read about the trade on the internet and was stubbornly attributing the story as an internet rumor with no merit whatsoever.  Just the idea of it seemed so absurd that I couldn't wrap my head around it.  'What team trades their starting center, during the season, when they are by every objective account one of, if not THE best team in the league?'  Unfortunately it was all too true.  Instead of waiting until the Celtics were actually too old to contend for a championship, the general manager of the Celtics Danny Ainge (a former Celtics guard in the '80s) decided to pull the plug mid-season and dismantle the best team in the NBA.  The Celtics proceeded to stumble into the playoffs with a new group of misfits and get their asses kicked by The Heat 4-1 in a best of 7 series.  Thanks Danny.  Despite the success of Ainge's blockbuster trade that brought Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston, he does not get a pass for this nonsensical and unforgivable blunder.  Danny cost us another championship; thanks again.  Although the photo below was taken during the early 2000s when the Celtics were godawful, the gentleman on the left makes a point that rings true to this day.  To be continued...