Ainge draft pick rankings: Identifying gems from the pack (No. 10-6)

Danny Ainge is one of the savviest executives in the NBA, however, there is one area of his tenure that involves plenty of debate among fans: His track record at the NBA Draft. Just how well has Ainge done with his drafting as a whole over the past 17 years in Boston? In order to get a better sense of his body of work, I teamed up with BSJ contributor Ryan Bernardoni to look closely at Ainge’s 47 draft night selections since 2003.

Bernardoni and I teamed up to rank all of Ainge’s selections from top-to-bottom over the past two decades. We considered each player’s stats, pick positioning, and performance, focused primarily on the time played with the Celtics. 

While there will be plenty of compelling choices to choose from at the top of the rankings, there was no shortage of duds in the mix for the bottom of these rankings. You can check out Part I and Part II and Part 3. Without further ado, let’s get to Part 5: Identifying gems from the pack

10. Ryan Gomes (No. 50 pick in 2005 NBA Draft): The Connecticut native and Providence product has always been a popular name among Celtics fans even though he only lasted two years in Green. Ainge needed to sacrifice good young talent in his trade for Kevin Garnett and after Al Jefferson, Gomes was the best name on the extensive list of players that headed the Wolves way. That’s a pretty impressive label for Gomes, who was drafted as a second-round flier after being a standout in Providence for four straight years in the Big East.

Outside of Steve Kerr, Gomes had the most productive career for any No. 50 overall pick in draft history. He averaged double-digit points for four straight seasons in Boston and Minnesota, firmly establishing himself as an above-average NBA starter at the peak of his career. If anything, the 6-foot-7 forward was probably a little ahead of his time in the NBA since his versatility as a forward who could stretch the floor would be a serious weapon for most offenses in today’s game. Instead, his 3-point shooting wasn’t utilized nearly as much despite having a solid stroke (35 percent from 3 in his career) until his final two NBA seasons.

Despite strong years in Boston, Minnesota and Los Angeles (with Clippers), Gomes never got a sniff of playoff basketball. His quick decline at age 29 coincided with the rise of the Clippers and that turned him into bench fodder, leading to his contract being amnestied in the summer of 2012. He got one more shot tight the Thunder two years later but was dumped to the Celtics to help make the money work in a three-team trade in 2014 (the Courtney Lee deal). The C’s waived him upon completion of the deal, meaning his NBA deal officially came to an end where it began.

9. Avery Bradley (No. 19 pick in 2010 NBA Draft): Taking advantage of players who see their stock drop in the short-term is an essential trait of any successful general manager. Ainge did just that with an eye on the long haul when drafting the 20-year-old guard out of Texas in 2010 in the midst of the Big Three era.

Bradley looked like a lock of a lottery pick early during his only college year with the Longhorns. Texas was ranked No. 1 in the country after starting the year 17-0 and Bradley was a highly projected freshman starter. Things went awry in January 2010 for both Texas and Bradley though. The Longhorns slumped, losing 10 of their final 17 games leading to a first-round exit in the NCAA Tourney. Meanwhile, Bradley injured his ankle during a pre-draft workout in Oklahoma City, limiting his visibility among teams. That led him to free-fall on draft night and waiting for the C’s at No. 19 overall.

In the heart of the Big Three era, the push was on for Ainge by the fanbase to take a more experienced player in the first round, someone on the wing who could help right away (James Anderson was a popular name at the time). The Celtics scouting staff went with Bradley though, believing he had the highest upside and could be groomed in Maine to be a starter in short order. That proved to be the case just a year and a half later as Bradley displaced Ray Allen in the starting five at the tail end of the 2012 season before getting hurt.

A look at all the busts in the 20-30 spots of the 2010 NBA Draft (Anderson, Craig Brackins, Elliot Williams, Damion James, Dominque Jones) shows just how well Ainge did with this one. Bradley played the best basketball of his career in Boston over six seasons, twice getting elected to the All-Defensive team. He could never handle the point well on offense but his on-ball defense was some of the best we’ve seen in Boston in the last 25 years.

8. Marcus Smart (No. 6 pick in 2014 NBA Draft): When Ainge and the Celtics made a return to the NBA Lottery for the first time in nearly a decade during the 2014 Draft, they needed a hit. The first year of the Brad Stevens era had gone accordingly to plan (lots of losses) but there weren’t many young promising pieces on the roster outside of Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger. The pressure was on to add some top-tier lottery talent and the choice was not easy for the C’s at No. 6 after a clear-cut top-3 prospects (Wiggins, Parker, Embiid).

Ainge had his choice of bulk in the frontcourt (Julius Randle, Noah Vonleh), experienced outside shooting (Nik Stauskas, Doug McDermott) as well as a dynamic point guard whose stock was on the rise pre-draft (Elfrid Payton). Ultimately, Ainge went with the defense-first choice in Marcus Smart, betting that his instincts on that end of the floor combined with his work ethic would create the necessary improvements for him to contribute on the offensive end as well with his shooting.

The defense was NBA ready out of the gate as Brad Stevens has repeatedly called Smart the best defensive rookie he has ever coached. While the shooting numbers were ugly early on for Oklahoma State guard thanks to a mix of questionable shot selection and injuries, those issues were consistently outweighed but his defensive contributions and all-around versatility.

On top of his defense, Smart has all developed into one of the best passers on the team, giving the team the option of playing him on the ball or as a catch-and-shoot player on the offensive end over the past couple seasons. The rest of the league has finally caught up with his defensive skill (hence All-Defensive honors last year) and there will be plenty of those coming as he enters his prime at age 25. When everything is said and done, Smart may end up as the best non-big in the 2014 draft class.

7. Tony Allen (No. 25 pick in 2004 NBA Draft): 2004 was quite the draft year for Danny Ainge. After blowing up the C’s core and trading away Antoine Walker at the start of the 2003-04 season, he was left with a mediocre team and mediocre draft picks (No. 15, 24, 25) heading into the summer of 2004. In order to nab that second star he sought to pair with Paul Pierce, he needed to add some young talent with upside. That’s a tall task in the second half of the first round for most general managers. Somehow, Ainge managed to do it with all three of his picks in the 2004 Draft, with all three of them landing among his top-7 all-time picks with the C’s.

Allen is the first name on that list at No. 7. He probably deserves to be a little bit higher given his production and the length of his career but he’s penalized here slightly for having his best years come after his career in Boston. The formula in landing Allen was similar to other successful Ainge picks in the late first and second round: Experienced proven college talent. Allen was a bit old for college as a 22-year-old junior after transferring to Oklahoma State but his defense and athleticism stood out to the Celtics. The questionable jump shot scared most teams away but the 6-foot-4 guard showed the defensive chops to handle some of the best wings in the NBA throughout his career.

It took Allen a little while to regain his footing with the C’s after tearing his ACL during the 2006-07 season but he developed into an integral part of the 2010 NBA Finals team, particularly with his defense on Kobe Bryant throughout that season. One of the biggest mistakes of Ainge’s career was letting him walk to the Grizzlies the following summer instead of locking up the gritty wing, a choice that helped bring a premature end to that era for Boston. That choice doesn’t take away from what Allen was, however: A defensive menace who racked up six All-Defensive team honors during his lengthy career.

6. Jaylen Brown (No. 3 pick in 2016 NBA Draft): This may be a prematurely high ranking for the 23-year-old just four years into his NBA career but the context of Brown’s situation makes it feel appropriate. The 6-foot-7 wing was arguably the most scrutinized pick of the Ainge era, earning boos from Garden fans when it was announced on draft night after weeks of trade rumors. After missing out on a clear-cut top-2 picks (Simmons, Ingram), the Celtics were left with a host of possibilities for No. 3 overall. Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss and Jamal Murray were all realistically in the mix for that spot, along with Brown.

On paper, Brown looked like a prospect with plenty of question marks after an underwhelming freshman season at Cal. He had brutal shooting numbers and appeared to be prone to turnovers and defensive lapses when watching on film. Ainge and his staff had been tracking Brown for years though and saw past these weaknesses. Like Bradley, Brown had been one of the top high school prospects in the country heading into his freshman season and was playing within a challenging scheme at Cal that lacked necessary spacing on offense. That left the young wing in tough spots constantly and his production suffered for it. In fact, his play would be better suited for the NBA game, with the ability to use his athleticism to create, along with continued improvement on his jump shot.

Those projections have come to be for Brown, who arguably should have been an East All-Star already this year. While it’s fair to expect an above-average starter with the No. 3 overall pick, the lack of lottery talent below Brown in this draft (beyond Murray and Buddy Hield) shows how big of a hit this was. Brown has some of the biggest upside still of any player in this draft class and his postseason production has proven he can raise his game against elite competition. Finding those kinds of difference-makers is what turns teams into contenders and that’s what Ainge may have found with Brown in this spot.