With Tom Thibodeau benching Kemba Walker for Alec Burks, 3 months after signing him to a 2 year $17 million deal, the Celtics trade that had contained Walker for Al Horford seems better and better as time goes on. This trade was the first big move executed by the new general manager, and former coach, Brad Stevens.

THE DANNY AINGE ERA

Before this year, the general manager of The Celtics was Daniel Ainge. For 18 years, Ainge was known for drafting great players such as Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. Not to mention players who seem to have some great upside in Robert Williams III and Grant Williams. We all know how great Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been in their young careers as they have some of the best upside in the entire league.

Marcus Smart

During his rookie year, Marcus Smart finished 5th in rookie of the year voting behind Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Mirotic, Nerlens Noel, and Elfrid Payton. Averaging 7.8 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals a game, Smart was awarded NBA all rookie second team honors joining Zach Lavine, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jusuf Nurkic, and Langston Galloway. Smart is also a 2 time all defensive first team because of his stingy defense that he is notoriously known for.

TERRY ROZIER

Starting with Boston, Rozier had a majority backup roll except for the year Kyrie was injured towards the end of the season in which he carried Boston through the playoffs before getting eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. He was involved in a sign-and-trade with the Hornets for Kemba Walker (via Danny Ainge) and immediately started to ball out, averaging at least 18 ppg every season.

ROBERT WILLIAMS

Being drafted in the 1st round, 27th overall, Williams has done nothing but improve every year. His points per game has gone up every year. From averaging 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game his rookie season, to 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds this season, he continues to impress year in and year out. The only thing that has plagued him has been injuries.

HONORABLE MENTIONS FROM DANNY AINGE ERA

This year, Grant Williams is shooting 51% from the field, 43% from the three and 91% from the free throw line. All career highs.

Though he is in his second year, Payton Pritchard impressed all of last year. He may not have had amazing stats (7.7 ppg, 2.4 rbg, and 1.8 apg), Pritchard had in impact that was beyond the box score with good full court defense and a reliable 3 point percentage of 41% as a rookie.

THE BRAD STEVENS ERA

During his first season as GM of The Boston Celtics, Stevens’ first move was trading all star point guard Kemba Walker, a 2021 first round pick (16) and a 2023 second round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for former Celtic, Al Horford, Moses Brown, and a 2025 second round pick. Stevens then managed to trade center, Tristan Thompson, to the Sacramento Kings, and traded Moses Brown to the Dallas Mavericks for forward, Josh Richardson. He then signed Dennis Schroder and hired head coach, Ime Udoka.

AL HORFORD / DENNIS SCHRODER / JOSH RICHARDSON

Thanks to the trade with OKC, Boston managed to save $9 million from Kemba Walker’s monstrous contract. The 5x all star, entering his 15th NBA season, is averaging 12.5 ppg on 45% shooting through 18 games.

After signing a 1 year deal worth $5.9 million, Dennis Schroder is playing well along side star players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, averaging 17 points on 44% shooting from the field.

Josh Richardson has been playing well defensively with his perimeter defense while putting up 9.5 points per game on 47% shooting.

While The Celtics front office may not be the best in the league, there’s no denying they are one of the best. This team is just a couple of years away from making a championship run and a big piece that would help could come this off season. Bradley Beal.