Danny Ainge brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion about the NBA Draft. He was himself a late second-round pick in 1981 and, after his playing career, experienced numerous drafts as a coach and executive.
Now serving as the GM of the Utah Jazz , Ainge was recently asked about the traits he looks for in prospects to make a good draft selection. During his appearance on the 'Pardon My Take' podcast , Ainge shared some insightful thoughts on the matter.
"I don't think there's one (trait), but talent overrides a lot of things. When guys are really talented, you can sometimes look the other way on other things," he responded and later continued. "I mean, if a guy is a great athlete, a good player, has a good brain, but can't shoot, I think that's a good bet to make."
Formula for drafting players
Ainge's drafting strategy is simple yet effective: identify the player with the best overall skill set. If that player has a weakness, particularly in shooting, he can simply improve it. Getting better at shooting is typically easier than developing a strong basketball IQ, for example, which depends more on instinct than technical ability.
To illustrate this, Danny pointed out several NBA legends who exemplified this pattern of having well-rounded skills in college but experiencing shooting struggles. These include Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd (one of Ainge's favorite players he coached), and Gary Payton. He later added Kawhi Leonard to the list.
The 65-year-old also noted another advantage of this drafting strategy, stating the names he mentioned, "Even if they had never learned to shoot, which they all did learn to shoot, they still would have been great players."
However, it's still worth considering whether that shooting deficit would have been exposed in today's shooting-focused era.
Related: "You could just feel it, the lack of respect" - Alonzo Mourning on the tense environment in the gold medal game against France in the 2000 Olympics
Ainge's draft selections were key
One could argue that Ainge's skill in drafting players, even when those picks didn't always pan out, played a key role in his keeping his job on multiple occasions. His tenure as GM of the Boston Celtics is a prime example.
For instance, in 2006, he made a questionable trade to acquire Sebastian Telfair, giving up the 7th overall pick, which the Trail Blazers used to select Brandon Roy, the 2007 ROY, and a three-time NBA All-Star.
A few years later, the Oregon native heavily criticized Rajon Rondo, the team's rising star, which left many Celtics fans baffled. He also put Tony Allen on the trading block in an arguably disrespectful manner and signed the complete misfit Nate Robinson.
On the positive side, Danny did draft some excellent players with the C’s, both late and early in the draft. This included the already mentioned Allen and Rondo, as well as Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, Avery Bradley, and Glen Davis.
Two other notable draft picks by Ainge, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum, were key in leading Boston to the championship title just a few months ago. So, even though Ainge was no longer with the team, he definitely deserves his due for that achievement.
Related: Danny Ainge shares why he loved Bill Walton: "He was a legend in our minds"
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