Ainge stays aggressive in market

The fearless attitude Danny Ainge brought to the court every night in the 1980s made his opponents hate him. Now in the Celtics’ front office, that same mentality Ainge displays throughout the NBA draft process has him envied.

Since being hired by the Celtics in 2003, Ainge has been one of the league’s most active and successful general managers on draft night, particularly in the all-too-wasted second round, when he’s selected current C’s Leon Powe (2006), Gabe Pruitt (2007), Glen Davis (2007) and Billy Walker (2008). And don’t forget Ryan Gomes (2005), who was an integral part of the Kevin Garnett trade.

Ainge doesn’t admit to having a secret for his second-round success, just the guts to make the picks that too often scare other general managers.

For instance, Powe and Walker weren’t traditional diamonds in the rough. Rather, they were widely considered blue-chip high schoolers whose fates were flawed by knee injuries at a young age, causing them to fall off the map a bit in college.

When they fell in the draft, Ainge pounced. He traded a future pick to the Nuggets to land Powe and got the approval from ownership to buy the Wizards’ pick to select Walker.

“Depending on how high you’re drafting, I think that injury risks are worth a gamble,” said Ainge, who was a third-round pick in 1981 when that round still existed. “Both of those situations [with Powe and Walker], we thought we were getting good players where they were being drafted because of who they had been their whole lives, high school and college.”

Ainge’s diligence while watching videos and scouting on the road are obvious key components to the good fortune. (“You ever watch a college game with the sound off?” asked Doc Rivers, a second-round pick in 1983. “It sucks.”)

And it’s something the Celtics haven’t benefited from in decades. Remember Kris Clack? Steve Hamer? Junior Burrough? Exactly.

Powe and company may not turn out to be the all-time greatest second-round steals like Gilbert Arenas, Manu Ginobili or even Celtics legend K.C. Jones, but the recent crop have been perfect role players on a superstar-laden roster. Without Powe or Davis — or the late-season signing of 1992 second-rounder P.J. Brown — the Celtics might still be chasing a 17th banner.

“We’ve done a pretty good job, but I don’t know what we do different from anybody else,” Ainge said. “I have a lot of faith in my staff and what they put in, and we always seem to be happy with the guys that we get down there. So far they’ve panned out.”