Slam Dunk Central Second Annual Man Of The Year Award

Posted by Jeff Sack under Slam Dunk Central's Annual Man Of The Year Award

As we come to the end of a historic and tumultuous year, it is once again time for the Slam Dunk Central Annual Man Of The Year Award being brought back by popular demand. Last December we published Slam Dunk Central’s First Annual Man Of The Year Award and it has been by far the most widely read column in our one year, seven months-plus of existence. Not that every one agreed with our choice, among the negative comments that were printable about our selection, a reader told me that I must have been smoking crack to name the man that I did last year.

Before we discuss last year’s choice and who is the person who has received the award this year, let’s go over the parameters of the award, in case you were not with us for the first time around. I thought long and hard before naming the award the ”Man of the Year Award.” I have been called the most politically correct man in the United States, which to be honest, I’m not sure if it was said as an insult or a compliment. But it would probably be true.

My first indication was to call it the “Person of the Year Award.” That being said, this is a NBA Website, therefore our award winner will be involved in some way in the NBA. Except for Violet Palmer, the NBA’s lone female referee, I can’t think of another woman that would be eligible. If Ms. Palmer is one day named the winner, or another worthy female comes into play we will change the Award name at that time. But realistically, this award will most always go to a man.

I also thought about Athlete, or Player of the Year, but this year our selection is neither. And it will not necessarily always go to a player. The other thing is I wanted this to be an award, unlike “Time Magazine.” Their “Person Of The Year” is not an award, they make no bones about it. It is given to the person who most effects society, for good or for bad, last year for example the “Person Of The Year” was Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was not meant as a compliment. I want our award to be that an award, a recognition of goodness. If it was just the man who most effected the sport, the choice would be simple, Tim Donaghy, or David Stern.

Last year our choice was extremely unconventional; we went with University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan, who actually signed a contract to be the head coach of the Orlando Magic. But after he made the commitment, to the Magic, he had to face the people he was leaving. You have heard the phrase “an eleventh hour decision” this was more like 12:15. But in the end he did the right thing, he followed his heart. He realized that he did not need the extra money, the extra glitz, the extra glamour. When he went back to Gainesville, and saw the heartbreak in people’s eyes, he knew he could not leave.

Last year’s choice was based on Donovan being a class act as a person, this year’s winner is also a class person, but he won the award due to what he accomplished in the Association. There were a lot of very worthy candidates for the award, starting with reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant. As I wrote at the end of last season, Kobe should not have won the MVP Award, for the L.A. Lakers would have made the post season without him, although as a much lower seed. Bryant however did have a superb season, and became a team player during the campaign, as he learned to trust first Andrew Bynum, and the Pau Gasol to get Los Angeles back to the NBA Finals.

My personal choice for NBA MVP last season was also a very worthy candidate for our award, Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James. LBJ was the reason that Cleveland made the playoffs, without him the team would have had a season similar to the Miami Heat without D-Wade. That to me is the x-factor in picking the Most Valuable Player, it’s not the best player, it’s the one who has the most value to their team. When Alex Rodriguez won the MLB MVP with the Texas Rangers, I was beside myself, they were a last place team. Certainly A-Rod had an incredible season, but the Rangers would have been in last place with or without their former shortstop.

Any list of NBA greats would not be complete without mentioning New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul. If you are a regular reader of mine, you are well aware of the fact that I covered CP3 for the first time when he played for Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Cleveland. I told everybody and anybody right then that Paul was for real, and would become a superstar in the NBA. Last season the rest of the planet finally caught up with me.

Chris Paul is a once in a generation “pure point guard“, he is a special player. I mean Bob Cousy, Tiny Archibald, Isiah Thomas, special (I exclude Magic Johnson from the list, because he was not a “pure point guard” he could play all five positions on the floor.) As much respect as I have for the talents, of Deron Williams, Mike Conley, and Derrick Rose, they are not on the same level as CP3. When all is said and done Chris Paul, if he stays on his current trajectory, could be the best “pure point guard” in the history of the Association.

Another very worthy candidate from the Hornets was NBA Coach Of The Year Byron Scott. Scott got a raw deal by the New Jersey Nets, allegedly because J-Kidd wanted it. (Kidd coincidentally or not was also reportedly considered a factor in the Mavericks firing their head coach Avery Johnson after last season ended.) Scott along with CP3 led the team to their first Southwest Division Championship, and they barring injury will be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years.

However as worthy as all the aforementioned gentlemen are, their accomplishments pale in comparison to what our awards recipient did. He put “Planet NBA” back on it’s access and restored the natural order of things after an absence of 22 years. He rebuilt and restored the glory of a franchise, as well as the Association’s most passionate rivalry. Television ratings and the NBA cache went soaring through the roof, mainly due to the actions of this one man. The winner of Slam Dunk Central’s Second Annual Man Of The Year Award is none other than Boston Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge.

The genesis of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics did not start during the Summer of 2007 when Ainge engineered the trades that would bring the “Green Team” Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Rather, it began back in the late 1950’s back with the original architect of the Celtics Dynasty, the Late Great Arnold Red Auerbach.

There have been many men correctly classified as geniuses in the NFL during my lifetime. They include Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, Al Davis, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick. There have been numerous college football coaches that deserve the label as well. However, in this veteran hoops observers opinion, there have been just two geniuses in basketball in the last fifty years. In the college ranks it would be the “Wizard Of Westwood” legendary former UCLA head coach John Wooden. The only man who deserves that mantle in the NBA as far as I am concerned is Red Auerbach.

There is no need for me to go over all the things that Red did over the years to turn the Celtics into the Association’s flagship franchise. However, if not for Auerbach once again thinking outside the box, Danny Ainge became a member of the Boston Celtics.

Danny Ainge first gained national attention as a stand out guard at Brigham Young University, and he looked like he would have a very strong career in the NBA. Danny decided to start his professional career with his other sport, as a second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. Although, Ainge was certainly far better than MJ in the bigs, he was not good enough to become a star. After the Celtics won the NBA Finals in 1981, Auerbach drafted Ainge with a second round draft pick. Most pundits thought it was throwing away the pick, Ainge would never leave baseball for the NBA. They were wrong.

Ainge was the starting guard for two Celtics Championship teams in 1984, and 1986. However starting with the death of Boston’s first round NBA Draft pick in 1986, Len Bias, a series of events took away the franchise’s magic. Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, Larry Bird, and Kevin McHale would all see their careers end far too soon due to debilitating injuries. Ainge was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Joe Klein and Ed Pinckney in 1989.

Ainge was a fiery combative player, if he was on your team he was scrappy, if he was on the opponent’s team he was a whiner. Danny was the kind of player you loved to play with but hated to play against, he knew every trick in the book, and loved to make his opponent look foolish. Ainge would move on first to Portland, and then in Phoenix in pursuit of one more ring before he called it quits. He would retire in 1995, with that quest unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, back on the East Coast the Celtics went through a series of different men at the helm all with little or no success, Jan Volk, Dave Gavitt, M.L. Carr, and Rick Pitino all had their shots, and all failed miserably. Ainge became a coach for the Suns, had some early success, and then retired citing the need to spend more time with his family. In 2003 Ainge would return to Boston as Director of Basketball Operations, there would be a lot of rocky moments before he would ultimately find success.

Boston had a horrendous season in 2006-2007 as they had a pathetic record of 24-58. Their only saving grace was the hope of landing either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant by getting the first or second selection in the NBA Draft Lottery. They would end up getting the fifth selection, Ainge and Celtics coach Doc Rivers were both clearly shaken by their lack of good fortune.

Ainge tried to make lemonade after he was handed lemons but at first it did not look like he was going to succeed. He made overtures to the Minnesota Timberwolves about trying to acquire the “Big Ticket.” Garnett through his agent conveyed his revulsion at the thought of coming to Boston, saying that if the Celtics traded for him he would exercise an option in his contract to become a free agent following the completion of the season. KG had visions of playing with Kobe in Los Angeles, not on a moribund Boston team, but then Ainge did some tinkering.

The Celtics would use that number five pick in a package to acquire Ray Allen from Seattle, with Allen alongside Paul Pierce Garnett suddenly was excited about coming to the Celtics. The trade was consummated, and of course you know the rest.

By making Boston “Hoopsville, USA” again Danny Ainge re-energized the Association. The NBA Finals match-up renewing the rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers was like catnip for NBA fans, the ratings were the highest they have been in years. And thirteen years after retiring as a player, Ainge finally had his third ring.

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