Nothing is certain in the NBA as the seconds tick closer to the trade deadline on Thursday at 3 p.m..
For Boston, this time of year is always a detailed lesson in chaos as Ainge works the phones like no other.
A look at the moves Ainge has made around the deadline since he came into power on Causeway Street.
2004: With the Celtics going nowhere as far as playoff contention was concerned, Ainge made the first of his many minor moves during this period. He swapped out guard Mike James in a three-way deal that allowed Detroit to obtain Rasheed Wallace. Months later, the Pistons upset the Lakers to win the NBA title.
2005: The Celtics traded Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart and a pick and brought back Antoine Walker, who was still loved in Boston at the time. The early returns were great when Employee No. 8 came back and the C’s brought back “The Glove” through one of many NBA loopholes, a month later. In the long run, however, this didn’t amount to much.
The C’s also traded away forward Jiri Welsch to the Cavaliers for a future first rounder. In hindsight, Ainge was clearly positioning himself to dump picks and young talent in exchange for what turned out to be Kevin Garnett.
2006: It came a month prior to the deadline, but on Jan. 26, Ainge traded Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed, Mark Blount and two future second rounders to Minnesota for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones
2007: None. You all remember this as the “tank year.”
2008: With the Celtics now in full “bring home Banner 17” mode, they signed veterans PJ Brown and Sam Cassell.
2009: Remember the “Starbury” experiment? We were hoping you didn’t, but Marbury did show glimpses of former brilliance. Strangely enough, he wouldn’t shoot the ball.
The C’s also signed Mikki Moore during this period.
2010: Brought in were Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry. Out were Eddie House, JR Giddens, Bill Walker and a second-round pick. A bit much for tiny Nate, don’t ya think?
The C’s also signed Michael Finley a couple weeks after the deadline.
2011: Yup, the big one. Hard to believe it’s already been over a year. The C’s traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to OKC for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and a conditional first round pick (the forgotten part of this deal which could help the C’s very soon).
They also traded Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to Cleveland for a second round pick in 2013.
As we know by now, Ainge is never afraid to mix it up with the big boys of the league:
