Ray Allen says Danny Ainge deserves credit for the Celtics' 2024 title: "It doesn't happen without Danny sending Paul and Kevin to Brooklyn"

Celtics President Brad Stevens is acknowledged as the architect of the 2024 Boston Celtics title team. However, according to the Celtics Hall of Famer Ray Allen , people must also give credit to former executive Danny Ainge.

Ainge hired Stevens in 2013, and they worked together for 8 years. When Danny retired in 2021, Brad assumed his post as Celtics President and made a string of moves that turned the Celtics from contenders to champions.

"I love Jrue Holiday," said Allen via si.com as he discussed the players Brad brought to Boston. "He's a mature leader. I love Derrick White there, too. Picking up [Kristaps] Porzingis was huge. You can tell that's a team that really likes playing together."

Brad's brilliant moves

Stevens' first move shortly after taking over from Ainge was shipping out the oft-injured Kemba Walker and bringing back Al Horford. At that time, many questioned the move, considering Horford was already 34 and had sat out the second half of the 2020-21 season during OKC's youth movement.

Then Stevens traded for Derrick White in 2022 and Kristaps Porzingis last summer. But just when everyone thought Boston was done building its team, a tactical blunder by the Milwaukee Bucks allowed Stevens to acquire Jrue Holiday for Malcolm Brogdon. But as brilliant as Brad's moves were, Allen says we have to go back to the beginning of the current Celtics team.

"People need to give credit to Danny Ainge," added Allen. "Brad Stevens did a great job, but it doesn't happen without Danny sending Paul and Kevin to Brooklyn. That secured the future for the Celtics. They're going to carry this team for the next 10 years."

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Trader Danny

If Brad constructed the current C's team, Ainge created the Super Team that won the Celtics' first title in the post-Larry Bird era in 2008. He did that by adding Kevin Garnett and Ray-Ray to a team led by Paul Pierce. But when that Big 3 was past its prime and Allen left, Ainge flipped KG and Truth into four first-round picks.

In 2016, Ainge drafted Jaylen Brown. The following year, he consulted Brown about drafting Jayson Tatum. When JB said yes, Ainge traded down from No.1 overall to No.3 and acquired JT plus another draft pick. Because of his moves during his run as an executive in Boston, Ainge earned the nickname Trader Danny.

And so, while the Celtics wouldn't have become champions without the players that Stevens added to the team, there wouldn't have been anything to build around without Ainge. Landing Brown and Tatum in consecutive drafts in a stroke of genius.

Related: Danny Ainge reveals not picking Jimmy Butler in the 2011 Draft is his biggest regret: “He was seriously in our thoughts”