Boston finally snagged their 18th championship banner in 2008, breaking a brutal 22-year drought, and the Seattle SuperSonics played a wild role in making that happen. It wasn’t just some minor move, either; this was a pivotal trade that commentators, analysts, and fans straight up didn’t get at the time.
Boston’s Basketball Purgatory Was Real, Y’all
Celtics fans were starving, man. The 22-year gap between their 1986 and 2008 titles felt like an eternity. A franchise so used to victory had been denied it for over two decades. It felt like all their basketball capital was spent on that beautiful 1986 team, leaving only disappointment and tragedy behind. Lucky the Leprechaun wasn’t lifting any gold. The 2007 season was a disaster, hitting 24-58, the second-worst in franchise history, all hoping to land a top-two draft pick. Boston dreamed of Kevin Durant or Greg Oden joining the shamrocks. But the lottery balls had other plans, slipping them to fifth despite having the second-best odds for the number one pick. Purgatory wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
Danny Ainge Pulled a Fast One with Our Sonics
GM Danny Ainge knew he had to do something drastic. So, on June 28th, 2007, Draft Night, with the 5th pick, the Celtics selected Jeff Green from Georgetown. THEN, BAM! They immediately traded Green and Wally Szczerbiak to the Seattle SuperSonics for Ray Allen and Glen Davis. Talk about a declaration that they weren’t content to stay in the Eastern Conference doldrums! But everyone was confused, though. Ray Allen was coming off a monster 26.4 PPG season and his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. Dude could clearly still play. However, he had just undergone surgery on *both* ankles, and 2008 would be his age-32 season. Adrian Wojnarowski himself chastised the move, wondering if Boston had given up a 5th pick just to become “respectable” instead of “revered.”
What a gamble, man. Giving up a top-5 pick, shipping it to us here in Seattle, for an aging star with bad ankles? The basketball world definitely had questions for Boston’s front office that day.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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