Danny Ainge has headed up 13 drafts as the Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations. It is true to say that he hasn’t drafted many all-stars. It is also true to say that he has entered only three drafts with lottery picks. Two of those picks were included in draft day trades; one for Ray Allen (safe to say that one worked out) and the other for Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff (The Garnett trade doesn’t happen without Ratliff’s expiring contract) The lone lottery selection he has made is Marcus Smart. The jury is out on his young career but he surely has shown promise as a franchise cornerstone.

For the people who believe in Ainge and want him to build through the draft (there are significant advantages to this approach if you select the right players) it makes sense to look at the only other time that he entered draft night with three First Round selections. That year was 2004 and Ainge had zero lottery picks. With the 15th, 24th and 25th selections there wasn’t a ton of excitement around these parts to put it mildly. Consider all of the negativity around here with their current situation of 3, 16 and 23 to put it in perspective.

Here is the look at the three players Ainge came out of that draft with:

#15: Al Jefferson – With the 15th overall selection Danny Ainge took the talented high school Center from Prentiss, Mississippi. Jefferson was the #4 high school recruit in the nation behind only Dwight Howard, Shaun Livingston and Josh Smith. After his third year in the NBA the 22 year old who averaged 16/11 became the biggest chip in the aforementioned Garnett trade. The next season, his first in Minnesota, he averaged 21/11. The season after that would ultimately be his best as he averaged a dominant 23/11 before blowing his knee out. Although having six more very solid years he never would return to the player he was before the injury. Overall he has played 12 seasons with career averages of 31 Minutes, 17 Points and 9 Rebounds per game and made one Third Team All NBA team. This pick was an Ortiz-like no doubt home run at #15.

Side note – If the Twolves selected Steph Curry instead of Jonny Flynn with the pick they received (back) in the KG trade, not many people would be claiming McHale handed this deal to Ainge on a platter. They took Flynn 6th. Curry went 7th. It’s not Ainge’s fault they picked the wrong player. Steph and Al for a player that was leaving at the end of the year anyways would have been a Grand Slam for Minny

#24: Delonte West – With the 24th overall selection Ainge took West who constituted one half of the best backcourt in the country at St. Joe’s. As a junior he averaged 19/7 and shot 41% from deep en route to an Elite Eight Appearance. Over his eight year NBA career West proved to be a valuable role player. He finished his career with averages of 27 Minutes, 10 Points, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists and 1 Steal per game. Not bad for a player picked at the end of the First Round. He was also one of the three assets traded to Seattle to secure Ray Allen. This was another very good pick considering where it was.

#25: Tony Allen – with the 25th overall selection Danny took the reigning Big 12 player of the year. Allen was never known as an offensive player. However in his third NBA season when he received 27+ minutes a game (his final 13 games) he averaged 37 minutes, 19 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.7 steals and 3.7 turnovers. Those were the 13 games before his debilitating knee injury suffered on his ill advised dunk attempt after the whistle was blown. We never got to see how good he could really be with that kind of consistent playing time. Regardless of that injury Allen has played 12 seasons in the NBA and made five All NBA Defensive Teams (3X First, 2X Second). He is widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the NBA and Kobe Bryant said he is the best defender he has ever faced. This is without a doubt another win for Ainge at this draft slot.

Danny Ainge knows talent. Period. End of story. If this draft class is even 70% of that one, he is going to add key players for them moving forward or valuable trade assets for a move down the road. One other thing to remember is that these players are joining a 48 win group. A group that is unselfish, plays as a unit and never quits. A group that does not lack leadership or identity and has one of the best young coaches around. Ainge adding three top 23 selections is not the worst route. In fact I would argue that it might be the best.