Celtics' Danny Ainge is the master of trades in the NBA
There is no exact science to measuring the success of an NBA executive, though re-evaluating trades is common practice by basketball media.
As part of this, we looked at how many All-Stars seasons the traded players have had after the deal. The executive who did the best in this mark is Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and it’s not even close.
Ainge has had 16 seasons of All-Star campaigns from players he has traded for during his tenure with the Celtics. Perhaps most notable is that he landed Kevin Garnett (who was an All-Star five times with Boston) without giving up any in return. Ray Allen also made three All-Star teams and the Celtics surrendered none in return.
Even more impressive: none of the players he has traded has ever made an All-Star team after leaving the franchise. That also includes offering Isaiah Thomas (who made an All-Star team with Boston but has not since) in a deal for superstar guard Kyrie Irving.
The only other active executive in the NBA who has netted more than two All-Star seasons without giving up any is Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations and general manager Neil Olshey – who acquired Chris Paul while he was working for the Clippers.
Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey has given up five All-Star seasons in exchange for seven. His trades have clearly been the most high-risk, high-reward of the executives around the league.
This study also looks at folks who were formerly executives for other teams (e.g. Mitch Kupchak with the Los Angeles Lakers as well as the Charlotte Hornets) before arriving at their current destination.
Overall, the basketball exec who fared the worst in this research was Sam Presti. This is mostly from trading James Harden, who has been an All-Star seven years in a row since getting moved to the Rockets. It also includes two All-Star nods from Victor Oladipo, who was acquired in exchange for Paul George.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report