Danny Ainge certainly lived up to his “Trader Danny” nickname ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft.
In a blockbuster deal, the Boston Celtics president of basketball operations swung the team’s No. 1 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the No. 3 selection and a future first-round pick.
The transaction seemed to come together fairly quickly, as the deal first was reported over the weekend and was completed Monday. But despite the fast pace, 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said negotiations weren’t a cakewalk due to the C’s front office personnel.
Colangelo: "It's never easy to negotiate with Boston because they're smart guys..I'm talking about Mike Zarren, by the way, not Danny Ainge"
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 19, 2017
We’re not sure if Colangelo’s primary agenda here is praising Zarren, Boston’s assistant general manager, or taking a jab at Ainge. Either way, we imagine he’s pretty thrilled that his up-and-coming team owns the top pick in Thursday’s draft.
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
