Already making a splash before the actual NBA Draft has started, the Boston Celtics traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the No. 3 selection and a future first round pick. The Celtics though, may not be done dealing as general manager Danny Ainge is exploring all sorts of options. Ainge’s exploration however is just confusing the hell out of rival executives and coaches.
Truly leaving up to his nickname of “Trader Danny,” Ainge is reportedly thinking about trading Boston’s No. 3 pick so the Celtics could move down even further in the first round. Ainge wants to do this because he is reportedly keen on adding North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith to the Celtics.
But Ainge is also reportedly telling different things to a number of teams, so not to reveal Boston’s true intentions. This has earned Ainge yet another nickname – “The Minister of Disinformation.”
From the Boston Herald‘s Steve Bullpett:
One NBA exec told the Herald that Ainge would love to find a way to get North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who isn’t rated as high as the third overall pick. Another said the Celts were looking at perhaps moving down in the draft again and picking up another asset for their trouble.
Meanwhile, to give you an idea of how surreal this has all become, a coach from yet another team said that if you asked 10 different clubs what Ainge wanted, you’d get 10 different answers. “We call him the minister of disinformation,” he said. “He’s putting a lot of stuff out there.”
Ainge is a shrewd GM and has shown in the past that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to making trades. So it comes as no surprise that Ainge would put out smokescreens so his opponents won’t truly know what type of move he is going to make.
This of course also means that the Celtics could literally do anything in the coming days with the No. 3 pick. We could see them package it for a veteran star, trade back, or they could do nothing and just select a player third overall. Either way, Ainge continues his reign as one of the most pushing yet secretive general managers in the NBA.
