Today in Boston Celtics history, President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge and the rest of the team’s front office picked up star shooting guard Ray Allen by trading a package that included point guard Delonte West, small forward Wally Szczerbiak, and forward Jeff Green to the then-Seattle Supersonics (now, Oklahoma City Thunder) in exchange for Allen and center Glen “Big Baby” Davis.
“You’re always listening when you come into a situation like this. You don’t wake up one day and look to move a player like a Ray Allen,” said then-Sonics’ general manager Sam Presti via ESPN. “Someone has to come get them and Boston did that here.”
The move of course would facilitate the trade of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics soon after, Ainge and Boston having assembled the requisite talent to convince the Big Ticket that such a deal would bear fruit in the banners department, which of course it did.
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It is also the date of the 2012 NBA Draft, held in Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In this draft, Boston took three players of note. The first was forward Jared Sullinger, drafted 21st overall after concerns about his back caused him to slip out of the lottery. Sullinger would play four seasons with the Celtics, averaging 11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game before joining the Toronto Raptors as a free agent in 2016.
Boston also drafted Syracuse center Fab Melo with the 22nd overall pick. Melo struggled at the next level and appeared in just six regular-season games with the Celtics, spending most of his time in the D League (as the G League was called then). Melo (rest in peace) averaged 1.2 points per game for Boston before he was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies with cash considerations for Donte Greene.
The Celtics’ last pick in this draft was Kris Joseph, taken 51st overall, also out of Syracuse. Like Melo, Joseph did not excel at the next level, also appearing in just six regular-season games and spending most of his time in the D League. Joseph averaged 1.2 points per game over that stretch and was waived in January 2013.
The 2007 NBA Draft was also held on this date at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In it, Boston took two players of note. The first was forward Jeff Green, drafted fifth overall out of Georgetown. He was immediately traded to Seattle but was dealt back to the Celtics with Nenad Krstic, cash, and draft considerations in exchange for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson. Green played four seasons interrupted by one to recover from heart surgery and averaged 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while with the team.
Boston also drafted guard Gabe Pruitt 32nd overall out of the University of Southern California. Pruitt won a title with the Celtics in a deep rotation role and spent much of his two seasons with the team in the D League. He recorded 2 points per game in his time with Boston, waived by the team in summer 2009.
It is also the anniversary of the 2006 NBA Draft, held at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Celtics took just one player of note, Villanova’s Randy Foye with the seventh overall pick. Foye, a 6-foot-4 guard, was then immediately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves with Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz to the Portland Trail Blazers for Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and draft assets.
One year prior to that date was the 2005 NBA Draft, which saw Boston draft three players of note and was held in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The first was wing Gerald Green, drafted out of high school with the 18th pick of the draft. Green won a dunk contest in 2007 with the Celtics and played three seasons in two stints with the team, putting up 8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He was dealt to the Timberwolves in the deal for Kevin Garnett.
Next was forward Ryan Gomes, taken 50th overall out of Providence. Gomes would win All-Rookie Second Team honors with the Celtics, and played two seasons with the team, averaging 10 points, 5.3 boards, and 1.3 assists per game before being dealt for KG. The Celtics also drafted guard Orien Greene 53rd overall out of LSU. Greene played one season for Boston, recording 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists before being waived the following summer.
The 2000 NBA Draft was also held on this date in Minneapolis’ Target Center, which saw the Celtics pick up one player of note. That was Jerome Moiso with the 11th overall pick of the draft. The French forward played just 24 games for Boston before he was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers for Roshown McLeod and draft assets, averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds with the team.
It was the same date as the 1995 NBA Draft, which saw the Celtics take two players of note, Junior Burrough and Eric Williams. Williams, an alum of Providence, played on the wing and was with Boston for parts of two seasons before he was traded to the Denver Nuggets for draft assets. The Newark native recorded 9.2 points, and 3.5 rebounds over that stretch. Burroughs was a 6-foot-8 forward out of Virginia taken 33rd overall. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, the former Cavalier put up 3.1 points and 1.8 boards with the Celtics over 61 games in his sole season in the NBA before he was cut.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Allen traded for; Sullinger, Green, Gomes draft
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