Tag: Danny Ainge

On this day: Danny Ainge debuts; Otis Birdsong born; Keyon Dooling trade; Greg Stiemsma signed

On this day, former Celtic guard and team president Danny Ainge made his debut for the team, and shooting guard Otis Birdsong was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion shooting guard and penultimate team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made his NBA debut for the franchise way back in 1981. An alum of Brigham Young University, Ainge was a three-sport star in high school, where he was a first team All-American in football, basketball, and baseball, playing basketball with BYU and baseball professionally with the Toronto Blue Jays while still in college.

He would play for that team in Major League Baseball for three seasons before deciding to try his hand at basketball and was picked up with the 31st selection of the 1981 NBA draft by the Celtics.

Boston of course bought him out of his deal with the Blue Jays.

Danny Ainge never envisioned Giannis Antetokounmpo as a superstar

Danny Ainge never envisioned Giannis Antetokounmpo becoming one of the best players in the world.

In 2013, the Boston Celtics had the 13th pick in the NBA draft, selecting Kelly Olynyk. Two selections later, the Milwaukee Bucks made one of the best decisions in their franchise’s history, selecting Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 16th overall pick. As we know, that pick changed Milwaukee’s trajectory and earned them an NBA championship.

During a 2018 interview with Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, Danny Ainge revealed that he had previously met with Giannis. However, the Celtics legend never envisioned him becoming an MVP-level talent. Instead, Ainge viewed Giannis as a solid prospect due to his size and length.

“He was really young,” Ainge said. “He played on a pro-B team in Greece, and I saw him practice. I met him. He was very skinny. I thought he was absolutely a worthwhile project. But never in a million years did I see him becoming a potential best-player-in-the-league type of player. And I saw his potential as a good player because he could handle the ball and he was long. But he was really, really skinny, and I think he was about two or three inches shorter than he is now. But what an amazing player.”

Of course, Giannis did develop into a superstar talent and is now one of the biggest threats to the Celtics’ chances of lifting their 18th championship banner at the end of the current season.

The NBA draft isn’t an exact science, though. It’s virtually impossible to judge how talent will develop once they enter the league, especially an unheard-of player from the lower leagues of Europe.

Nevertheless, Ainge would likely want a mulligan on the 2013 draft if given the opportunity.

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Former Boston Celtics lottery pick waived by Danny Ainge

The former Boston Celtics lottery pick is now an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Utah Jazz.

The Utah Jazz has waived Romeo Langford. The former Boston Celtics lottery pick was training with Danny Ainge‘s team after being released by the San Antonio Spurs. Langford failed to earn a spot on the rebuilding Jazz’s roster. The former Hoosier has struggled since entering the NBA.

Langford was drafted with the 14th overall pick in 2019 but has struggled with injury throughout his time in the league. When healthy, Langford has seldom shown the talent that saw him named “Indiana Mr. Basketball” in 2018. Despite his struggles, there have been moments where Langford has shown flashes of figuring things out, primarily on the defensive side of the floor.

Langford left the Celtics as part of the deal that saw Boston acquire Derrick White. While the deal worked perfectly for Brad Stevens, Langford will now wonder where his next opportunity will come from.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyg-FqyoXLY/

Most teams have finalized their preparations at such a late juncture in the off-season. Langford could find himself signing with a G-League roster or being on the free-agent market for the foreseeable future.

In his two-and-a-half years with the Celtics, Langford participated in 98 regular-season games, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest. Last season, Langford played in 43 games for the Spurs, starting 21. He averaged 6.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

At 23-years-old (almost 24,) the former Indiana standout will be hoping another NBA team takes a flyer on his potential upside. He may need to prove his injury struggles are behind him, though.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason 3-pointers?

Can you name the Boston Celtics’ most prolific postseason 3-point shooters? Better yet, can you do it in order?

The 3-point shot has become the centerpiece of the modern NBA offense in both the regular season and playoffs, but much of the Boston Celtics’ storied postseason success took place before the adoption of the 3 by the NBA — never mind its ascent to dominance.

And while Larry Bird might have started his career in the very same game a 3 was first recorded, even the Hick From French Lick did not rely much on the shot. So the record book of which Celtics have sunk the most shots from beyond the arc is heavily slanted toward the modern era, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few surprises mixed in.

Can you guess the 10 most prolific 3-point shooters in Boston’s playoff history? Make your guesses and scroll down to see how you did.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason assists?

Can you name the best postseason distributors in Boston Celtics history? Better yet, can you do it in order?

Few things separate a contender from a pretender more than their ability to move the ball, with the requisite trust to be selfless with the ball creating opportunities for all to eat on their way to a playoff win.

And that selfless ball movement has been the hallmark of the very best Boston Celtics playoff squads throughout the history of their storied franchise. No team has yet surpassed their 17 total titles and their historic dominance of the NBA postseason is quite literally the stuff of legends. Behind it all has been the humblest of all basketball statistics, the assist.

But who are the Celtics players who have dished out the most in the team’s long history of postseason appearances? Let’s scroll down to find out.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in playoff games played?

Can you name the top 10 players in franchise history in terms of games played in the postseason? Better yet, can you name their order?

With 17 titles to their name and over seven decades of history, it is inevitable that the Boston Celtics are among the most heavily represented teams in games played in the history of the NBA playoffs.

But who are the players who have played the most games for this storied franchise? Those 17 titles were won with the blood and sweat of an elite cadre of Celtics who spent more time than any others on the court to make those banners more than just a goal. The answers might surprise you, even if you consider yourself a keen follower of Celtics history — and how close some are to each other is another revelation.

Can you name the top 10 players in franchise history in terms of games played in the postseason? Scroll down, and see how you did.

Boston’s Danny Ainge recalls how Celtics icon Red Auerbach beat him in racquetball

The three-sport All-American was not, in fact, good at every sport he tried.

Younger fans of the Boston Celtics may not be aware that current team President Danny Ainge was a player with the franchise and won two titles in the mid-1980s.

Fewer still know Ainge was a three-sport All-American, earning national recognition as a high school athlete in his native Oregon while playing basketball, football, and baseball. He played baseball professionally in college before joining the Celtics in 1981. As adept as the future Celtic was at sports in high school, he met his match in another sport in one Red Auerbach, the iconic Boston coach and team president behind the bulk of Boston’s banners.

Ainge was asked if there’s a sport he isn’t good at on a recent episode of the popular New England Sports radio show “Toucher & Rich.”

Boston’s Danny Ainge, Kendrick Perkins talk 2008 title team genesis, chemistry

Boston head honcho Danny Ainge and former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins spoke on the 2008 title team’s early days and chemistry.

Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge appeared on ESPN’s “Hoop Streams” show in April 2020 to talk about Boston’s 2008 NBA Championship among several other topics. At that time, it was hosted by Cassidy Hubbarth and joined by former Celtics champion center Kendrick Perkins as well as Amin Elhassan.

Spurred by Garnett’s Hall of Fame election that had recently been announced, Hubbarth soon arrived at the origin story of the so-called “new Big Three” (as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen have been called in reference to the 1980s banner-hanging frontcourt trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish).

Asked about the conversation in which the BYU alum convinced the Big Ticket to accept a trade to Boston, Ainge replied at length.

Former Celtics president Danny Ainge on his time in the NBA as a player, coach and executive

Ainge started his athletic journey as a multi-sport athlete in high school, excelling in basketball, football, and baseball.

Former Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, the current Utah Jazz team president, has had quite a charmed life.

The onetime champion Celtics shooting guard recently appeared on the Players Tribune “Knuckleheads” podcast, and he recalled the contours of his career in basketball, from his earliest days to his time in the NBA as a player, coach and executive.

Ainge started his athletic journey as a multi-sport athlete in high school, excelling in basketball, football and baseball. Ainge attended BYU, where he played baseball and basketball. He was particularly drawn to basketball and ultimately chose to pursue it with a little encouragement from famed Celtics president Red Auerbach.

To hear the full interview with Ainge on his storied career in Boston and beyond, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Former Celtic first-rounder Romeo Langford set to reunite with Danny Ainge in Utah

Romeo Langford is reportedly signing an Exhibit-10 deal with the Utah Jazz.

Former Boston Celtic and first-round draft pick Romeo Langford is signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Utah Jazz, according to the Athletic’s Tony Jones. These are non-guaranteed training camp deals that can be converted to a regular or two way contract for one year of service or can pay out between $5,000 and $50,000 if the player is cut before the start of the season.

Langford was the Gatorade Player of the Year during his lone season at Indiana in 2018 but has yet to find his footing in the NBA. At 6-foot-5, Langford is an athletic wing who could become a reliable reserve as a pro if he can become a little more consistent. Langford spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs, logging 21 starts and averaging 6.9 points per game.

When the Celtics drafted Langford with the No. 14 pick in 2019, Danny Ainge was still calling the shots in Boston’s front office. Ainge is now serving as the CEO of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz. Perhaps Ainge believes Langford can help bolster Utah’s depth chart.