Ranking the best trades the Boston Celtics ‘almost’ made under Danny Ainge

6. The No. 9 pick in 2015

Before turning his attention to basically every available superstar in the NBA, Ainge desperately wanted to land Justise Winslow in the 2015 draft.

According to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg, the Celtics offered a “package featuring as many as six draft picks, including four potential first-round selections” to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 9 pick. However, the Hornets rebuffed them and chose Frank Kaminsky with that selection, while the Miami Heat snagged Winslow at No. 10.

Forsberg didn’t specify the protections on the picks in Boston’s offer—”four potential first-round selections” may be doing a ton of heavy lifting in that sentence—but Ainge was relieved that the Hornets didn’t take him up on it.

“In hindsight, the next day, it’s probably a good thing,” he said on 98.5 The Sports Hub after the draft, per Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “We were probably going to spend too much to do what we needed to do.”

The Celtics instead stood pat at No. 16 and took Terry Rozier, who starred in their run to the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.