Ainge on how and why he got each player
May 8th, 2008 by Bill Burt
I have a lengthy story in today’s Eagle-Tribune about how Danny Ainge not only built the team, from scratch, but did in a “Red Auerbach” sort of way.
You can check that story out here.
Here are nuggets, from Ainge, on each player he acquired:
Ray Allen: “He had been a guy we had conversations the last couple of years with Seattle. We had a lot of discussions the weeks before draft. We didn’t know if it would get done. We felt he could compliment Paul Pierce and give us another shooter, another veteran. He could also complement Al Jefferson’s post game. He also, possibly, could sway Kevin Garnett to come here.”
Tony Allen: “He was a guy we fell in love with in college at Oklahoma State. He just tough. That’s what I loved about him. We had two picks, 24 and 25 (in the 2004 draft), and took Delonte West and Tony. He’s a terrific player, maybe even a starter eventually in this league.”
P.J. Brown: “He’s a guy who could provide experience in playoffs, a big body, especially with Scot Pollard being hurt. We tried getting him at the beginning of the year but he wasn’t budging. Paul and Kevin called him at the break and we convinced him to help us.”
Sam Cassell: “He wanted to play for a contender. He had his contract bought out by the Clippers. He called Kevin (Garnett). Kevin called me. We got him for his experience, his fearlessness. He is not afraid. Sam has provided us some leadership off the bench, especially handling the ball. You can’t double team down low when Sam is in.”
Glen Davis: “He’s a kid that we liked in draft. Doc, in particular, liked him a lot. He had seen him play. When the draft was approaching Doc kept reminding me about him. I liked Big Baby. The whole staff liked him. He’s a presence in the middle for us.”
Kevin Garnett: “He’s not only a great player, but he’s a leader. He’s been around a long time and has been an MVP. He makes other players around him better. He also is a great defensive player and we needed that here. Do I need to say any more?”
Eddie House: “I’ve watched Eddie for a few years now, since he played at Arizona State. We needed some scoring off the bench and he’s a great weapon. He puts the ball up right away. He’s a fearless scorer.”
Kendrick Perkins: “Coming out of high school, we took Perk with our second first round pick. Kendrick, we felt, was best big man in the draft. We felt we needed size and to get him at the 27th pick was lucky on our part. He was spectacular in high school. We felt that we could transform his body into an NBA starting center. And that’s just what he is.”
James Posey: “He’s one of my favorite players. His was a unique situation. We tried to get him early in summer, but because we were well over the luxury tax, we couldn’t really give him the contract he was looking for. We lost touch a little bit. Then when he hadn’t signed we got in contact with him again. We signed him because I thought he would give us a defensive mind set and he can hit the three-pointer. He has also given us more, like leadership. And we didn’t know that he was such a stabilizing influence in the locker room. He’s a great practice player.”
Leon Powe: “He was a great high school player and he had a great college career, too. He had a lot of injuries in college and some people were probably concerned about his height. We felt he was somebody too good to pass up in the second round. We traded future second round pick with Denver. We are so glad about that move. He competes all of the time.”
Rajon Rondo: “We identified him and were lucky to make a deal to get him with the 21st pick (in 2006). We loved his speed and quickness. He was a very good point guard at Kentucky. I realize there were some issues there (with the coach), but we also found out how intelligent he is. We traded a future pick to get him, so that tells you what we thought of him.”
Brian Scalabrine: “I think he’s going to help us before the playoffs are over. Brian is one of the best all-around players on the bench. He can guard small guys and big guys. He’s a terrific passer and for us, spreads the floor at power forward. He’s one of our smartest team defenders. People don’t realize that when KG went down for nine games, Brian started all of those games. We won nine of them.”
