In a somewhat rare draft class that sports around 15 freshmen that can potentially be selected in the first round, a prospect with his own shoe and apparel brand, Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge was the one who actually came out looking like a big baller after the franchise gained the rights to its first No. 1 pick since 1950.

Known as a calculative, low-risk, high-reward type of poker player, Ainge looked like a flat out genius after reaping the riches of a futile season by the Brooklyn Nets, cashing in with their pick, as accorded per trade when Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were shipped out of town in order to rebuild.

While Ainge is the front office rockstar of the league today, he was willing to shop his best player, Isaiah Thomas, in a hellbent effort to get another first-round pick last offseason, with reportedly no one in the Celtics' roster safe from being moved, according to local voice Jackie MacMullan, who made an appearance in his fellow Around The Horn panelist “Bob Ryan's Boston Podcast.”

“Before the draft last year … Danny was trying to get two picks, not just Jaylen Brown. He was trying to get two picks,” MacMullan said. “He was on the phone with everybody from coast to coast and he was offering everybody.

“That includes Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas and anything else they needed to get where he wanted to go. There was no untouchables on that team last year.”

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Fortunately for Ainge, the best move he made last offseason was the one he didn't make — as Thomas led the Celtics to an Eastern Conference regular season-best record, while sitting third in the league in scoring with a 28.9 points per game clip.

Being a front office executive revolves around taking risks and maximizing one's chances for success. While credit and blame is spread as right and wrong decisions are made — sometimes the best decisions end up being the ones where the trigger wasn't pulled, as exemplified by the Celtics' deep postseason run that got them into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the shortened 2011-12 season.