The 5 best trades Danny Ainge ALMOST made

3. Danny Ainge almost trades for DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins had been linked to the Celtics since about 2015, and if you consulted this poll, 79 percent of the participants wanted the Celtics to trade for Boogie.

At the time, the dysfunction within the Kings’ organization was as at such a level of discord, Cousins was actually seen as not the problem. In fact, it was said the instability within the organization exacerbated the star’s behavior. For example, the Kings fired coach Mike Malone despite Cousins’ great relationship with him.

Still, over the course of the next two years, with Cousins’ volatility, and the lack of the Kings’ success despite having a player so dominant, the Celtics claimed they weren’t giving up a king’s ransom for a great player who could also burn down the culture from the inside. With Cousins’ explosive personality, his inability to get along with coaches, his frequent tantrums on the court and the fact Ainge wasn’t interested in a deal anyway, the Celtics GM was of course hesitant to invest something like a Nets pick in Boogie. Hey, fair enough.

Only, those picks wouldn’t have to have been part of any deal. It was just a front for not making another move. Ainge was almost exposed when it came out the Kings had traded Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans for essentially Buddy Hield and what would be the No. 10 pick in the 2017 draft. But then it came out Kings owner Vivken Ranadive was smitten over Hield. Ainge was bailed out. And before we even could realize what was really happening, Ainge’s sleight of hand had moved on: Boogie was never part of the plan.