Opposing GM's Are Once Again Bitching And Crying That Danny Ainge Is Asking For Too Much In Potential Trades

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I feel pretty confident in suggesting that nobody loves Trade Deadline week more than Danny Ainge. This is his time to shine since everyone knows he has players to trade who could have some real impact on a contender. As long as you have picks to send his way, Danny Ainge is interested. 

With that of course comes the crying of opposing GMs. That was one of my favorite parts of the Danny Ainge tenure in Boston. Year after year after year opposing GMs would cry about how Danny Ainge was the devil and was asking for too much in trades. It was almost as if they expected him to willingly make losing trades or something. You don't bully Ainge in trade negotiations, he bullies you. If you want a player, he is going to make sure he squeezes every last asset he can out of you. Where I come from, that's called being a good GM.

Ainge started the year by pissing everyone off with his Gobert return package. That killed the market in a sense that now every team that was trading a star player expected a billion 1st round picks. Guess what, if Ainge ends up taking on Russell Westbrook, he's going to get those 2 Lakers unprotected picks. This is what he does. When Ainge has leverage and knows he has leverage, you can always guess what's coming. More tears

It's like clockwork! 

When you factor in that everyone is reporting it's a seller's market right now, what do you think happens in that scenario? No shit the sellers are asking for a lot. The same is true for Masai Ujiri and the Raptors with their players. If you want impact guys this week, you're going to have to pay the price and the price just went up. 

It just brings me a level of comfort that Ainge is still up to his same old tricks even if it's no longer to the benefit of my favorite team. As someone who roots for a team that might trade with Ainge, I already know Brad will most likely have to overpay for Kelly Olynyk by adding in an additional 2nd round pick. I know the price for Jared Vanderbilt is high. You don't see me crying about it, because I've lived through the Danny Ainge experience. 

The best part about these quotes is these opposing GMs will cry about how mean Ainge is and how greedy he is, but someone will pay his price. They always do. He knows that so why not ask for the moon? They don't call him Trader Danny because he doesn't know what the hell he's doing, and with the league wide open right now Ainge is no dummy. If you're a contending team and you want someone from his roster, be prepared to be taken for everything you have. 

How badly do you want to win? The answer to that question is if you're willing to pay Ainge prices. Those that aren't won't get their guy and may pay for it in the long run. Those that do might be bringing in that final piece to their puzzle and could win the whole thing. The Jazz players aren't bad, there is real value there whether you need a big, a shooter, a guard, etc. 

I would LOVE to know who that GM is though. The easiest way to shed the blame for not pulling the trigger with the Jazz is to just put it all on Ainge being greedy. It's been that way for 20+ years and it certainly doesn't look like it's changing anytime soon.