The Portland Trail Blazers are in need of a new general manager and president after firing Niel Olshey. The roster around Damian Lillard remains uninspiring, as Portland currently sports an 11-12 record.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, one name that could emerge in the Blazers' search for a new lead executive is Danny Ainge, a native of Eugene, Oregon who spent two seasons as a Trail Blazer during his NBA playing career.
Among the names sure to surface in the Blazers search for a new GM: Danny Ainge. Ainge is an Oregon native who played for the Blazers in the early 90’s.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) December 3, 2021
Ainge's track record as a general manager is certainly better than that of most executives. He spent 18 years (2003 to 2021) as the lead executive of the Boston Celtics, building a championship-winning team in five years. The Celtics made the playoffs in 15 of Ainge's years at the helm, including six Eastern Conference Finals berths.
The caveat with Ainge's legacy is that he is widely regarded as the master of almost making trades. Several times during his tenure, most notably the last five-or-so years of it, Boston was linked with stars that were available for trade and despite having plenty of capital to make big moves, Ainge played it cool for the most part. He did leave behind a Celtics team with plenty of talent, though they may not be able to reach their full potential.
Should Ainge hop out of retirement and pursue this job with Trail Blazers, he'll have a lot of work to do. Portland is in dire need of defense if they want to be championship contenders. Conversely, it might be time to tear the team down and start from scratch. That'll be a decision the next Trail Blazers GM will have to make.
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