Filed under: Celtics, Lakers, NBA Playoffs, NBA Finals

LOS ANGELES — When Boston won its first title in 22 years in 2008, even the Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett didn’t get as much credit as the man who brought the trio together.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge had gone from the firing line to the parade procession in the span of less than a year, orchestrating the biggest one-season turnaround in NBA history with a series of shrewd moves that earned him the award for 2007-08 NBA Executive of the Year. Yet as the Celtics enter Game 2 of these NBA Finals against the Lakers Sunday, the truth is that they are here in large part because of the move Ainge wasn’t able to make this time around.

It’s the seemingly-forgotten story of their surprise run in these playoffs, a far-from-storybook tale that took place at the February trade deadline when Ainge’s attempts to retool an aging roster came up short. Most notably, he was determined to acquire former Sacramento Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin, with Allen certainly destined to be part of any such package.

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