Former Boston Celtics GM betting big on Lakers' failures after blockbuster
Danny Ainge is proving that his years in Boston Celtics green have given him an agenda against the purple and gold. Ainge is playing 4D chess as Jazz President in taking several future first-round picks from the Lakers in hopes the team will collapse in the years following LeBron James’ retirement/Los Angeles departure.
As part of the three-team trade that returned D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers while bringing his former Timberwolves teammates Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley with him, Ainge was able to get L.A.’s 2027 first-round pick (top 5-protected). That could turn out to be a lottery pick by the time it conveys.
The rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers lives on in Ainge’s heart with this potential long-term Los Angeles-sabotaging trade — one that won’t age well if LeBron James doesn’t win another title in Hollywood before his career is all said and done. MassLive’s Brian Robb relayed that Ainge made the trade for that purpose too after first and foremost stocking up his own team’s war chest:
“This deal is all about the Jazz betting on Lakers’ failures once LeBron James retires a few years down the line. (Ainge’s) piled up plenty of picks from the Wolves already for Rudy Gobert and now has one more priced asset as he roots for a host of teams to fail down the line (Cavs, Wolves, Lakers) to build a contender in Utah.”
The Boston Celtics must get Danny Ainge on the phone
If Ainge has vengeance for the Lakers, one figures he may have a soft spot for the Boston Celtics. Brad Stevens would do well to phone up and Ainge to see if he’d be willing to return Kelly Olynyk to Boston, where his career began.
Of course, there’s the possibility Ainge would be just as tough on the Cs as he would be any team. He could simply be a shark for whoever is employing him. Then again, Olynyk makes no sense on the current Jazz after the Westbrook-Russell blockbuster, so any deal is better than a buyout.
It’d behoove the Boston front office to at least give Ainge a call to see if he still would help out the franchise he’s most synonymous with.
