NBA Exec Cracks Joke Celtics Fans Will Enjoy — And Nets Fans Will Hate

It’s been more than a decade since Danny Ainge fleeced the Brooklyn Nets as Boston Celtics president of basketball operations.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Nets entered the 2024 NBA Draft lottery with the ninth-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. The Atlanta Hawks won the lottery, but Brooklyn’s first-round selection jumped from No. 9 to No. 3.

The problem? The Nets no longer own the selection thanks to the 2021 trade in which Brooklyn acquired James Harden. The Houston Rockets instead now hold the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, a development that probably feels like déjà vu for many Nets fans.

You see, the Nets are no strangers to trading away draft picks that eventually become very valuable. Case in point: the aforementioned 2013 Celtics-Nets blockbuster, which saw Boston acquire three first-round picks (2014, 2016, 2018) plus a pick swap (2017) as part of a trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett — two aging superstars — to Brooklyn.

Two of those picks ultimately turned into Jaylen Brown (No. 3 overall, 2016) and Jayson Tatum (No. 3 overall, 2017) — Boston’s current franchise cornerstones — while Brooklyn still is seeking its first NBA title.

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ESPN’s Zach Lowe pointed out the Nets’ knack for giving up top-tier draft capital as part of ill-fated trades in a piece published Monday. He included a quote from an NBA executive who attended Sunday’s lottery.

“And Danny Ainge was even in the room,” the exec in the drawing room joked after the Nets landed the No. 3 pick, which conveys to the Rockets.

Ainge no longer is running the Celtics. He’s now an executive with the Utah Jazz. But the shrewd maneuver he pulled off in 2013 laid the groundwork for Boston’s current roster, which Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has augmented perfectly since transitioning to the front office.

The Rockets surely are hoping for similar results, with the Nets pick in tow, while Brooklyn is left to ponder whether it should be a little more careful with its draft assets moving forward.