Trader Dan taking the hit in Boston

["Michael J.King Sr." <kingpin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/1226suns1226.html

Trader Dan taking the hit in Boston

Ainge makes deals, accepts the boos

Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 26, 2003 12:00 AM

Through most of his 14 years as a player in the NBA, Danny Ainge was 
greeted by booing at just about every arena his teams visited.

He was one of those players whom fans loved if he was on their team and 
loved to hate if he played for the opposition.

So nobody was better prepared for what Ainge is going through now in Boston 
as Celtics executive director of basketball operations.

Yep, he's still getting booed, only now it's by the home team fans.

The Celtics reached the Eastern Conference finals two years ago. And with 
All-Stars Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, the team appeared to be in 
position to get into the playoffs for years to come.

But Ainge's plan goes beyond just being a playoff team in the weaker 
conference.

"I'll be disappointed if next year we don't feel like we can compete for 
the Eastern Conference championship," Ainge said.

Tonight, the Celtics team that visits the Suns at America West Arena is 
dramatically different from the one Ainge inherited.

He traded Walker and guard Tony Delk to the Dallas Mavericks for center 
Raef LaFrentz, guard Jiri Welsch, a 2004 draft pick and throw-in Chris Mills.

Almost instantly, the criticism began. LaFrentz has a bad knee that landed 
him on the injured list.

It was a condition Ainge was aware of when he made the deal, believing that 
the knee won't be a long-term problem.

Walker ripped Ainge recently, calling him "a snake." But if Walker didn't 
expect to be traded, he wasn't paying attention. On the cover of the club's 
media guide this year: Ainge, coach Jim O'Brien and Pierce. No Walker.

Then Ainge pulled the trigger on another deal, this time sending popular 
forward Eric Williams along with Tony Battie and Kedrick Brown to the 
Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Ricky Davis, center Chris Mihm, center 
Michael "Yogi" Stewart and a second-round pick.

It was a deal the Celtics coaching staff reportedly lobbied against, mainly 
because Williams was such a dependable, valuable and flexible piece of the 
team.

Davis is a mercurial talent who has a history of bad behavior, such as the 
time he shot at his own basket to get the rebound so he could record a 
triple-double. He didn't get along with Paul Silas, his coach in Charlotte 
and later in Cleveland.

Time will tell whether Ainge is right about the two deals, but neither was 
popular with the green-blooded Celtics faithful.

When Walker returned to the FleetCenter recently with the Mavericks, he was 
cheered. Ainge was booed - although Walker had a horrible night and the 
Celtics won the game.

"That stuff doesn't bother me," Ainge said of the criticism he has taken. 
"I feel like I have the support of the owners. It's not like I'm pulling 
strings and doing things on an island. We have good basketball people and 
good business people. I can take the hits.

"I should take hits. That's what I love about Boston. The fans are as 
passionate as there are anywhere."

Ainge was a fair-haired boy as a Celtics guard and was always welcomed 
warmly after he was traded.

"When somebody plays in Boston, they become immortalized," he said. "I 
think in the fans' minds, they think some of the players they've had there 
in the past are better than they really are. It's because they're loyal.

"I expected it coming in. I remember the press conference (former Celtics 
coach) Rick Pitino had when he blasted talk radio and said how it was 
ruining sports. The top radio show back there (in Boston) is the No. 
1-rated show in the country.

"There is more positive than negative sentiment, but there is a lot of 
negative, like (criticism of the Red Sox) trying to let Nomar (Garciaparra) 
go so they could get A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) - things that it seems obvious 
you should try to do."

Ainge believes in what he's doing and he is confident that he can put 
together a Celtics team that is fiscally responsible under the league's 
salary-cap and luxury-tax system and of championship caliber on the floor.

It's a far different role than he had as coach of the Suns. Coaches look at 
their roster and want players to fill the holes to win games right away.

Those who put a team together have to look at the bigger picture - how a 
player fits in on the floor but also how he will affect the salary cap or 
roster flexibility in the future.

"It's a tough balance all the time for coaches and GMs in this league," 
Ainge said. "You have to weigh winning the game tonight and building for 
the future."

Ainge said, despite the criticism he's "having a lot of fun" in his job. He 
left coaching because he believed the demands were too great on his family. 
So far, that hasn't been a problem in the new role.

"It's really busy, but I can manage it much better than I was able to as a 
coach," he said. "

What he can't control is the reaction to his job.

"I have people calling me all the time asking, 'Are you OK?' I just laugh 
at that. It really doesn't bother me at all. Losing still affects me much 
worse."
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