The Danny Ainge System: Which NBA shot-callers should be avoided in the trade market?

When last we unveiled The Danny Ainge System, we expanded it from its original version, which rated every draft pick of every NBA team’s lead executive, to also include every trade and free-agent signing.

In other words: Here we will be analyzing every move of every shot-calling executive in the league.

The Danny Ainge System was inspired by the short-lived professional baseball career of the Utah Jazz’s president of basketball operations as well as comparisons between the NBA’s Daryl Morey and baseball’s Billy Beane, a pair of analytics-driven executives who have both been profiled by author Michael Lewis.

It uses baseball’s Sabermetrics to categorize every trade, draft pick or free-agent acquisition as a home run, triple, double, single, walk or strikeout. From there we can determine each executive’s “on-base percentage” and “slugging percentage” from every move, adding them together to calculate OPS. That number represents a rating for an executive, accounting for each shot-caller’s accuracy and excellence.

Still don’t get it? It will make sense as we go along. Trust me. This is going to be fun. I promise.

The higher the OPS, the better the decision-making. Putting up numbers over a longer period of time is more impressive, obviously, than a brief run of success or failure. Keep that in mind as we delve into this.

This exercise is meant to remove some of the subjectivity from our opinions on executives. From looking at the scope of an executive’s work, we can determine whether each decision was a success — and how much of a success any of them were. And by breaking down every move individually, we can dictate a fairly unbiased statistical analysis of an executive’s work. I had no idea what anyone’s OPS would be as I sorted through his every move, much less did I know where he would rank in comparison to the others.

All that mattered was whether a decision was a successful one, and in that sense this exercise is entirely subjective, because one person (me) categorized every move. It is, frankly, quite an undertaking.

I challenge you to challenge my work. I have been challenged before when we did this two years ago, and it went OK for me. One beat writer checked my calculations on the executive he covered and determined a single second-round pick was more of a walk than a strikeout. And he was right. Believe it or not, that adjustment was enough to up the executive’s ranking. Which means: This is a living, breathing document.

I am happy to admit when I am wrong, if only you can convince me. Which is precisely what I told an executive’s agent when he took issue with his client’s ranking on our last publication of The Danny Ainge System. Tell me which move is marked wrong. Convince me a free-agent acquisition should be ruled a triple and not a double. Show me the trade I have missed. (Shoutout Basketball Reference and Spotrac.)

When you have done the work, you can live with the results. This is what I will tell myself when this is aggregated and picked apart. So with some further ado: The Danny Ainge System: Trade History. (We will cover every executive’s draft and free-agency decisions, plus the overall rankings, in the coming days.)

We should note: Newcomers Jeff Peterson (Charlotte Hornets), Trajan Langdon (Detroit Pistons), Ben Tenzer (Denver Nuggets), Onsi Saleh (Atlanta Hawks), Scott Perry (Sacramento Kings), Brian Gregory (Phoenix Suns) and Bobby Webster (Toronto Raptors) do not have sample sizes big enough to evaluate.

Likewise, Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy, who was hired two years ago, has made only two trades — dealing for Chris Paul in the 2023 offseason and acquiring Jimmy Butler in February — making his contributions on that front an outlier. We will still list him here, so that we can include him in the overall rankings at the end, but it would not be right to include him in these particular rankings.

Danny Ainge has had a lengthy career and done some pretty good things. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

(Chris Gardner via Getty Images)

Mike Dunleavy, Golden State Warriors (2023-)

Trades: 1.000 OBP • 2.000 SLG • 3.000 OPS

See how it works now? The OPS is the key number here, and Dunleavy’s is astronomical through two years of service, a good reason why his Warriors made the second round of the playoffs this past season — with a chance to reach the Western Conference finals, had Stephen Curry not suffered an injury.

The average OPS for an executive’s trade history is 1.457. Only 10 shot-callers scored higher than that average, including the architects of a handful of championships and both reps from this year’s finalists.

As a general rule …

HR: A franchise-altering decision (in a good way)

3B: A star-level talent acquisition

2B: The addition of a rotational mainstay

1B: Any upgrade in value

BB: A net-neutral investment

K: Any downgrade in value

I’ll walk you through some of the more nuanced decisions as we go.

Enough kibitzing. Let’s get to The Danny Ainge System: Trade History rankings, worst to first …

(Each trade is marked by the most notable player in the deal. Outgoing assets are listed in italics. We have, for the most part, weeded out inconsequential trades of expiring contracts, heavily protected second-round picks and cash. If you notice anything off in that or any regard, you can find me here.)

22. Artūras Karnišovas, Chicago Bulls (2020-)

Trades: .500 OBP • .000 SLG • .500 OPS

BB: Lonzo Ball (2021) • DeMar DeRozan (2021) • Josh Giddey (2024) • Zach LaVine (2025)
K: Nikola Vučević (2021) • Daniel Gafford (2021) • Lauri Markkanen (2021) • DeMar DeRozan (2024)

At what point are you no longer an outlier? Maybe eight moves over five years into the job.

Karnišovas could get on base and even hit for some power if he can get Josh Giddey under contract, and if the Australian plays anything like he did in his late-season pursuit of that contract. For now he’s a walk, since the deal cost them Alex Caruso, who just played a role in his second championship of the decade.

Karnišovas is still trying to live down his trade for Nikola Vučević, which cost Chicago two lottery picks.

21. Joe Dumars, New Orleans Pelicans (2025-)

Trades: .542 OBP • .579 SLG • 1.121 OPS

3B: Rasheed Wallace (2004)
2B: Richard Hamilton (2002)
1B: Eric Montross (2001) • Clifford Robinson (2001) • Mateen Cleaves (2001) • Rodney White (2002) • Lindsey Hunter (2003) • Darko Milicic (2006)
BB: Ben Wallace (2000) • Christian Laettner (2000) • Bob Sura (2003) • Derrick Coleman (2004) • Carlos Delfino (2007)
K: Lindsey Hunter (2000) • Cedric Ceballos (2000) • Fran Vazquez (2001) • Carlos Arroyo (2005) • Nazr Mohammed (2007) • Allen Iverson (2008) • Arron Afflalo (2009) • Corey Maggette (2012) • Tayshaun Prince (2013) • Brandon Jennings (2013) • Jordan Poole (2025)

(Dumars served as general manager of the Detroit Pistons from 2000-14.)

Following Dumars’ 11-year absence from front-office decision-making, the Pelicans decided it was a good idea to hand the keys to their organization to the Hall of Fame guard, despite this track record. Yes, he acquired Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton — two core members of the 2004 champion Pistons — but he did not make a single trade of any importance in 10 years after the title. It should come as little surprise, then, that his first order of business in New Orleans was the bizarre acquisition of Jordan Poole.

20. Tim Connelly, Minnesota Timberwolves (2022-)

Trades: .545 OBP • .588 SLG • 1.133 OPS

1B: Will Barton (2015) • D.J. Augustin (2016) • Joffrey Lauvergne (2016) • Rudy Gobert (2022) • Mike Conley Jr. (2023)
BB: Kosta Koufos (2013) • Jameer Nelson (2015) • Ty Lawson (2015) • Monte Morris (2024) • Karl-Anthony Towns (2024)
K: Jan Veselý (2014) • Arron Afflalo (2014) • JaVale McGee (2015) • Donovan Mitchell (2017) • Jusuf Nurkic (2017) • Roy Hibbert (2017) • Devin Harris (2018) • Isaiah Whitehead (2018) • Malik Beasley (2020) • JaVale McGee (2021)

(Connelly served as general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2013-2022.)

Connelly has done the bulk of his good work in the draft, where in Denver he selected Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the foundation of a championship roster. Beyond adding Aaron Gordon to that mix in a brilliant trade for a perfect partner to Jokić, he has not enjoyed much success in the market.

This is where you can debate me on Rudy Gobert, who has helped the Timberwolves to consecutive Western Conference finals appearances. He also cost them a handful of draft picks, plus some talent, and if even one of those draft picks becomes a blue-chipper, that trade could be a strikeout in the end. As it is, I have him listed as a single. You might think he’s an extra-base hit. See how this gets interesting?

19. Jon Horst, Milwaukee Bucks (2017-)

Trades: .500 OBP • .636 SLG • 1.136 OPS

1B: P.J. Tucker (2021) • Grayson Allen (2021) • Kevin Porter Jr. (2025)
BB: George Hill (2018) • Nikola Mirotić (2019) • Patrick Beverley (2024)
K: Eric Bledsoe (2017) • Tyler Zeller (2018) • Serge Ibaka (2022) • Jae Crowder (2023) • Damian Lillard (2023) • Kyle Kuzma (2025) • Pat Connaughton (2025)

Horst traded for Jrue Holiday, an All-Star and All-Defensive talent who was the final piece to Milwaukee’s championship puzzle in 2021. That makes the decision a home run. Other than that, the trade market has been an unfriendly place for Horst, whose singles are squibs. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the league have taken notice of what has happened to the Bucks as injuries and missteps have taken a toll.

18. Jeff Weltman, Orlando Magic (2017-)

Trades: .500 OBP • .667 SLG • 1.167 OPS

3B: Nikola Vucevic (2021)
K: Timofey Mozgov (2018) • Markelle Fultz (2019) • Aaron Gordon (2021)

Everything hinges on Weltman’s decision this summer to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and the rights to four first-round draft picks to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Desmond Bane. If Bane is the key to unlocking the Magic as a contender, he is an extra-base hit, but it is too early to tell now.

17. Nico Harrison, Dallas Mavericks (2021-)

Trades: .500 OBP • 714 SLG • 1.214 OPS

1B: Christian Wood (2022) • P.J. Washington (2024)
BB: Tim Hardaway Jr. (2024)
K: Josh Richardson (2021) • Kristaps Porziņģis (2022) • Luka Dončić (2025) • Caleb Martin (2025)

The Luka Dončić trade counts for only one strikeout. It may be the equivalent of a strikeout swinging with two outs, the bases loaded and a playoff berth on the line, but it is a single strikeout nonetheless.

16. Daryl Morey, Philadelphia 76ers (2020-)

Trades: .513 OBP • .750 SLG • 1.263 OPS

2B: Luis Scola (2007) • Kyle Lowry (2009) • Kevin Martin (2010) • Goran Dragic (2011) • Trevor Ariza (2014)
1B: Carl Landry (2007) • Metta World Peace (2008) • Courtney Lee (2010) • Derek Fisher (2012) • Thomas Robinson (2013) • Corey Brewer (2014) • Lou Williams (2017) • Seth Curry (2020) • Patrick Beverley (2024) • Quentin Grimes (2025)
BB: De’Anthony Melton (2022) • James Harden (2023) • Reggie Jackson (2025)
K: Terrence Williams (2010) • Shane Battier (2011) • Marcus Camby (2012) • Kyle Lowry (2012) • Patrick Patterson (2013) • Marcus Morris (2013) • Jeremy Lin (2014) • K.J. McDaniels (2015) • Ty Lawson (2015) • Ryan Anderson (2018) • Iman Shumpert (2019) • Russell Westbrook (2019) • Robert Covington (2020) • Al Horford (2020) • George Hill (2021) • James Harden (2022) • Matisse Thybulle (2023) • Buddy Hield (2024) • K.J. Martin (2025)

(Morey served as general manager of the Houston Rockets from 2007-2020.)

Man, Daryl Morey has made a lot of trades. They say fortune favors the bold, and it has, as Morey has remained a prominent front-office figure for 18 years. He has reached base more often than not, and he has hit for some power — constructing a team that went toe-to-toe with the mighty Golden State Warriors in the 2017-18 season — but it has been a while since he has connected for an extra-base hit.

15. Rob Pelinka, Los Angeles Lakers (2019-)

Trades: .364 OBP • .900 SLG • 1.264 OPS

HR: Anthony Davis (2019) • Luka Dončić (2025)
BB: Patrick Beverley (2022)
K: Dennis Schröder (2020) • JaVale McGee (2020) • Russell Westbrook (2021) • Marc Gasol (2021) • Rajon Rondo (2022) • D’Angelo Russell (2023) • Dorian Finney-Smith (2025)

What power. Pelinka has made a pair of home-run decisions, trading a ton of draft capital for Anthony Davis, winning the 2020 championship, and then turning Davis into Dončić this past February. It is time now for him to start raking on some of those smaller decisions, as he attempts to build around Dončić.

14. Sean Marks, Brooklyn Nets (2016-)

Trades: .600 OBP • .682 SLG • 1.282 OPS

2B: D’Angelo Russell (2017) • Kevin Durant (2023) • Mikal Bridges (2024)
1B: Thaddeus Young (2016) • Bojan Bogdanovic (2017) • DeMarre Carroll (2017) • Kenneth Faried (2018) • Jared Dudley (2018) • Greg Monroe (2019) • Bruce Brown (2019) • Landry Shamet (2021) • Royce O’Neale (2024)
BB: DeMarre Carroll (2019) • Dennis Schröder (2024) • Terance Mann (2025)
K: Allen Crabbe (2017) • Dwight Howard (2018) • Jeremy Lin (2018) • Taurean Prince (2019) • James Harden (2021) • DeAndre Jordan (2021) • James Harden (2022) • Royce O’Neale (2022) • Kyrie Irving (2023) • Joe Harris (2023)

Marks has been at the helm of Brooklyn’s front office for nearly a decade, and that has yielded a single playoff series victory. In between has been a wild ride, as he assembled a team worthy of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and subject to their whims. He is currently dealing with the aftermath, putting a ton of recent stock into the draft, and that should be the goal again next season. He sure could use a home run.

(This is where we should note that most sign-and-trade deals are listed as free-agent signings, not trades. So, while Durant was technically traded to the Nets, it was more of a free-agency signing than anything.)

13. Zach Kleiman, Memphis Grizzlies (2019-)

Trades: .682 OBP • .647 SLG • 1.329 OPS

1B: Mike Conley (2019) • Andre Iguodala (2019) • De’Anthony Melton (2019) • Marc Gasol (2021) • Kris Dunn (2021) • Steven Adams (2021) • Isaiah Todd (2023) • Xavier Tillman (2024) • David Roddy (2024)
BB: Chandler Parsons (2019) • Eric Bledsoe (2021) • Luke Kennard (2023) • Steven Adams (2024) • James Huff (2025)
K: Dwight Howard (2019) • Justise Winslow (2020) • Grayson Allen (2021) • De’Anthony Melton (2022) • Marcus Smart (2023) • Ziaire Williams (2024) • Marcus Smart (2025)

Kleiman is a smart general manager who does just about everything well. We keep waiting on him to take a big swing, reconfiguring his roster as a more serious title contender, but instead he went the opposite way — dealing Desmond Bane for a cache of draft picks, better positioning himself for that big swing.

Everything in Memphis hinges on Ja Morant’s superstardom, but that is a draft story for another day.

12. Joe Cronin, Portland Trail Blazers (2021-)

Trades: .667 OBP • .667 SLG • 1.333 OPS

2B: Damian Lillard (2023)
1B: Gary Payton II (2023) • Deni Avdija (2024)
B: CJ McCollum (2022) • Jerami Grant (2022) • Josh Hart (2023)
K: Norman Powell (2022) • Nickeil Alexander-Walker (2022) • Jrue Holiday (2025)

Quietly in Portland, Cronin has done some decent work, getting out of the Damian Lillard business at what was (unfortunately) just the right time, only to reinvest in the franchise favorite’s rehabilitation. He has deftly navigated them out of a difficult situation and into another that depends heavily on a young core — one that includes Deni Avdija — that performed admirably in the final months of last season.

11. Rafael Stone, Houston Rockets (2020-)

Trades: .667 OBP • .667 SLG • 1.333 OPS

1B: Christian Wood (2020) • P.J. Tucker (2021) • Derrick Favors (2022) • Justin Holiday (2023) • Steven Adams (2023) • Jaden Springer (2025)
BB: Russell Westbrook (2020) • Eric Gordon (2023) • 2025 R1, 2027 R1, 2029 R1 (2024)
K: James Harden (2021) • Victor Oladipo (2021) • Christian Wood (2022) • Kevin Porter Jr. (2023) • Cam Whitmore (2025)

We’ll see what becomes of the Kevin Durant deal. For now we will conservatively rate it as a double, as we know he will be a mainstay in Houston’s lineup going forward. How much the soon-to-be 37-year-old has left in the tank, and whether he can be the leader this young team needs him to be, is in question.

In advance of acquiring Durant, Stone built a No. 2-seeded upstart that was upset in the opening round of the playoffs by a more seasoned Warriors team. He has built well from every which way, including in the trade market, where Durant is in theory the final piece to a championship puzzle — a home run.

10. Michael Winger, Washington Wizards (2023-)

Trades: .800 OBP • .667 SLG • 1.467 OPS

1B: Bradley Beal (2023) • Kyle Kuzma (2025) • Marcus Smart (2025) • Jordan Poole (2025)
BB: Marvin Bagley (2024) • Daniel Gafford (2024) • Deni Avdija (2024) • Reggie Jackson (2025)
K: Kristaps Porziņģis (2023) • Chris Paul (2023)

Winger’s performance in a short time will wow you when you see the overall rankings, as he has dug the Wizards from a hole that included Bradley Beal’s contract (in the aftermath of John Wall’s contract). This was a team going nowhere north of the second round of the playoffs, and he has turned it into a team reliant on nine recent first-round draft picks, some of whom he has acquired via trade. Some of them have a chance to be good, and more of them are coming, but something is brewing in Washington.

9. Leon Rose, New York Knicks (2020-)

Trades: .643 OBP • .846 SLG • 1.489 OPS

3B: Karl-Anthony Towns (2024)
1B: Ed Davis (2020) • Derrick Rose (2021) • Austin Rivers (2021) • Ousmane Dieng (2022) • Josh Hart (2023) • Mikal Bridges (2024)
K: Evan Fournier (2021) • Jalen Duren (2022) • Alec Burks (2022) • Obi Toppin (2023) • Bojan Bogdanovic (2023)

Leon Rose may never speak to the media, but he has quietly done a brilliant job in New York, turning the Knicks from relatively nothing into an Eastern Conference finalist. He did that with coach Tom Thibodeau at the helm, and now Rose is betting on Mike Brown. That is as hefty of a decision as any he has made, and that includes the acquisitions of Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. Bravo.

8. Koby Altman, Cleveland Cavaliers (2017-)

Trades: .737 OPS • .875 SLG • 1.612 OPS

3B: Donovan Mitchell (2022)
1B: Jordan Clarkson (2018) • George Hill (2018) • Kyle Korver (2018) • George Hill (2018) • Rodney Hood (2019) • Alec Burks (2019) • JaVale McGee (2020) • Isaiah Hartenstein (2021) • Lonzo Ball (2025)
BB: Jordan Clarkson (2019) • Rajon Rondo (2022) • De’Andre Hunter (2025)
K: Kyrie Irving (2017) • Kevin Porter Jr. (2019) • Andre Drummond (2020) • Ricky Rubio (2021) • Caris LeVert (2022)

Altman is hitting consistently well on most every decision, save for a Kyrie Irving deal over which he held little power. The acquisition of Donovan Mitchell turned what was a 44-win play-in tournament loser into a 64-win juggernaut (that also lost short of expectations in the postseason). Believe in Mitchell, though, and believe in Cleveland’s core, which includes Jarrett Allen, as rightful favorites in a shallow conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti reflects on the team's first championship season during an NBA basketball press conference, Monday, June 30, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Cliff Brunt) — Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti has the Thunder on top. (AP Photo/Cliff Brunt)

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

7. Sam Presti, Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-)

Trades: .756 OBP • .906 SLG • 1.662 OPS

HR: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2019)
2B: Kurt Thomas (2007) • Kendrick Perkins (2011) • Victor Oladipo (2016)
1B: Ray Allen (2007) • Thabo Sefolosha (2009) • Daequan Cook (2010) • Enes Kanter (2015) • Jerami Grant (2016) • Dennis Schröder (2018) • Danny Green (2020) • Kelly Oubre Jr. (2020) • Trevor Ariza (2020) • Al Horford (2020) • George Hill (2021) • Derrick Favors (2021) • Mike Muscala (2023) • Victor Oladipo (2023) • Kevin Porter Jr. (2023) • Alex Caruso (2024)
BB: Kurt Thomas (2008) • Delonte West (2008) • Chucky Atkins (2009) • Eric Maynor (2009) • Nazr Mohammed (2011) • Ryan Gomes (2014) • Taj Gibson (2017) • Jerami Grant (2019) • Trevor Ariza (2021) • Al Horford (2021) • JaMychal Green (2022) • KZ Okpala (2022) • Dario Saric (2023)
K: Lazar Hayward (2011) • James Harden (2012) • Dion Waiters (2015) • Jeremy Lamb (2015) • Randy Foye (2016) • Joffrey Lauvergne (2016) • Carmelo Anthony (2017) • Chris Paul (2020) • Steven Adams (2020) • Derrick Favors (2022) • Gordon Hayward (2023)

We are getting into the heavy hitters. Sam Presti is, by most accounts, the smartest shot-caller in the league, and he has twice built young budding dynasties, one of which ultimately failed to win a title and another that has only just begun after winning one. The acquisition of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a grand slam, if only we could account for that somehow. Maybe someday we will add RBI to the System.

Presti is also an example of how every general manager, even the brightest one, has to take his lumps. Strikeouts are bound to happen. James Harden was a tough one to swallow. Ask Presti about any one of those whiffs, and he will surely explain it in better detail than I can, but take, for example, Derrick Favors.

In 2021, Presti traded a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz for Favors and a first-round draft pick — a single of a deal, if the protected selection the Jazz owe to them ever conveys. Presti did that trade knowing full well he would have to unload Favors’ contract in the future, which he did in a mess of a deal.

It is all very explainable if you are willing to dive into the detail, but that does not mean that even the best of general managers do not whiff on occasion over the course of an 18-year career. And he’s still, what, about my age? I can’t imagine what he thinks of The Danny Ainge System, but he’s surely too busy building championship teams to care where he ranks on some silly Sabermetrics view of his profession.

6. Lawrence Frank, Los Angeles Clippers (2017-)

Trades: .842 OBP • .923 SLG • 1.765 OPS

2B: Ivica Zubac (2019) • Norman Powell (2022)
1B: Blake Griffin (2018) • Tobias Harris (2019) • Mo Harkless (2019) • Paul George (2019) • Luke Kennard (2020) • Eric Gordon (2023) • Kris Dunn (2024) • Bogdan Bogdanović (2025)
BB: JaMychal Green (2019) • Eric Bledsoe (2021) • Serge Ibaka (2022) • Mason Plumlee (2023) • James Harden (2023) • John Collins (2025)
K: Marcus Morris (2020) • Rajon Rondo (2021) • Bones Hyland (2023)

It is not Lawrence Frank’s fault that Paul George and Kawhi Leonard could never stay healthy. It might be his fault that they traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the deal for George, but who would not have taken that swing when the return also included Leonard? We deemed what could have been a homer a single, because, man, losing SGA is tough, but really only in retrospect. Nobody knew SGA would be this good.

Otherwise, Frank has built what might quietly be one of the Western Conference’s best teams. He has hit a bunch of singles, including recent additions Kris Dunn and Bogdan Bogdanović, and this summer’s acquisition of John Collins could be another one soon enough. He is a key to their success this season.

And let me explain why the James Harden trade is considered a walk at this point: Frank traded the rights to his first-round draft picks in 2027, 2028 and 2029 for Harden, who has not won a playoff series in two seasons in L.A. Did I mention the Clippers just gave Harden a two-year, $81.5 million extension? He is, ultimately, who this era of Clippers basketball hinges on, and that is a walk until proven otherwise.

5. Brian Wright, San Antonio Spurs (2019-)

Trades: .818 OBP • 1.000 SLG • 1.818 OPS

2B: Dejounte Murray (2022) • De’Aaron Fox (2025)
1B: Doug McDermott (2021) • Thaddeus Young (2022) • Harrison Barnes (2024)
BB: Devonte’ Graham (2023) • Reggie Bullock (2023) • Jakob Poeltl (2023) • Rob Dillingham (2024)
K: DeMar DeRozan (2021) • Derrick White (2022)

Brian Wright just does smart things. He has worked for the Spurs since 2016 and officially took over as GM from R.C. Buford in 2019. San Antonio at that time was in its post-Kawhi era. He has lucked into some incredible draft positions, to be sure, but he has also done well for himself on the trade market, flipping Dejounte Murray for a collection of picks from Atlanta in 2022 and acquiring De’Aaron Fox in February.

Wright might have been able to get more for DeMar DeRozan and Derrick White in retrospect, but even those whiffs are not egregious. He got value for both, including one first-round pick the Spurs used in the trade for Fox and a potential swap with the Boston Celtics in 2028. This is not an organization that makes poor decisions. Wright is the best GM no one talks about, and San Antonio must like it that way.

4. Pat Riley, Miami Heat (1995-)

Trades: .679 OBP • 1.211 SLG • 1.890 OPS

HR: Alonzo Mourning (1995) • Shaquille O’Neal (2004)
3B: Tim Hardaway (1996) • Goran Dragic (2015)
2B: Eddie Jones (2000) • Antoine Walker (2005) • Norman Powell (2025)
1B: Jamal Mashburn (1997) • Jermaine O’Neal (2009) • Jae Crowder (2020)
BB: Brian Grant (2000) • Cedric Ceballos (2000) • Shawn Marion (2007) • Dwyane Wade (2018) • Trevor Ariza (2021) • Nemanja Bjelica (2021) • Victor Oladipo (2021) • Kyle Lowry (2021) • KZ Okpala (2022)
K: Brent Barry (1998) • Ricky Davis (2001) • Mark Blount (2007) • Eric Bledsoe (2010) • Toney Douglas (2014) • Brian Roberts (2016) • Ryan Anderson (2019) • Terry Rozier (2024) • Jimmy Butler (2025)

Riley has built four separate contenders in Miami, and that means operating efficiently in every market. We will get to how he constructed the back-to-back champion Heatles through free agency in the early 2010s, but he built the first of his title teams by way of a trade for Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. Riley paired him with a draft pick, Dwyane Wade, who was instrumental in all three of Riley’s championships in Miami.

Before that, Riley acquired via trade both Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Together they peaked as a 61-win team in the 1997 Eastern Conference finals, only to lose to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. There have not been a ton of extra-base trades ever since the acquisition of O’Neal, but this summer’s addition of Norman Powell did remove some of the sting of losing Jimmy Butler for relatively little value in return.

3. Danny Ainge, Utah Jazz (2021-)

Trades: .787 OBP • 1.125 SLG • 1.912

HR: Kevin Garnett (2007) • Kevin Garnett (2013)
3B: Ray Allen (2007) • Isaiah Thomas (2015)
2B: Gary Payton (2004) • Markelle Fultz (2017) • Rudy Gobert (2022) • Donovan Mitchell (2022)
1B: Chucky Atkins (2004) • Jiří Welsch (2005) • Wally Szczerbiak (2006) • Nate Robinson (2010) • Keyon Dooling (2011) • Brandon Bass (2011) • Courtney Lee (2012) • Doc Rivers (2013) • Tyler Zeller (2014) • Dwight Powell (2014) • Rajon Rondo (2014) • Marcus Morris (2017) • Royce O’Neale (2022) • Kelly Olynyk (2024)
BB: Antoine Walker (2003) • Ricky Davis (2003) • Antoine Walker (2005) • Kendrick Perkins (2011) • Jordan Crawford (2013) • Jordan Crawford (2014) • Jeff Green (2015) • David Lee (2015) • Kyrie Irving (2017) • Daniel Theis (2021) • Joe Ingles (2022) • Nickeil Alexander-Walker (2023) • John Collins (2023) • Simone Fontecchio (2024) • Liam McNeeley (2025)
K: Jumaine Jones (2003) • Antoine Walker (2005) • Sebastian Telfair (2006) • Jerryd Bayless (2014) • Aron Baynes (2020) • Evan Fournier (2021) • Bojan Bogdanovic (2022) • Kris Dunn (2024) • Jusuf Nurkic (2025) • John Collins (2025)

(Ainge served as general manager of the Boston Celtics from 2003-2021.)

It should come as no surprise that Danny Ainge — the man for whom this System is named — scores highly in every aspect of being an NBA executive. He is, without a doubt, one of the best in the business.

Ainge’s experience with Kevin Garnett illustrates his bravado. He went all in on trading for Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007, instantly forming a championship roster around Paul Pierce. Once Boston had squeezed every ounce of value from Garnett, Ainge heartlessly traded both KG and Pierce, acquiring the draft picks that became Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — the foundation of yet another title team.

In between, he landed Isaiah Thomas, who for two-plus seasons served as a bridge between title contenders, even leading the Celtics to another Eastern Conference finals appearance in 2017.

Ainge has had some swings and misses of late for the Jazz, but his trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell returned Lauri Markkanen, a cache of draft picks and more young talent that has presumably set up Utah for a bright future. Much of that depends on Ainge’s draft successes, which we will get to.

2. Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics (2021-)

Trades: OBP: .800 • SLG: 1.286 • OPS: 2.086

2B: Al Horford (2021) • Kristaps Porziņģis (2023) • Jrue Holiday (2023)
BB: Josh Richardson (2021) • Juan Hernangomez (2021) • Bol Bol (2022) • Daniel Theis (2022) • Malcolm Brogdon (2022) • Grant Williams (2023) • Xavier Tillman (2024) • Anfernee Simons (2025)
K: Mike Muscala (2023) • Jaden Springer (2024) • Kristaps Porziņģis (2025)

Stevens has not been on the job for long, but he has slugged only extra-base hits, acquiring Al Horford, Derrick White, Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday — all key components to Boston’s 2024 title team.

What is interesting for Stevens: He had to take his licks this summer in order to duck the second apron. The Celtics faced an extraordinary luxury tax bill if they did not dump the salaries of both Holiday and Porziņģis. I thought Stevens did well to land Anfernee Simons, a 26-year-old 20-point scorer, in exchange for the 35-year-old Holiday. We’ll call that a walk until we are proven otherwise. As for Porziņģis, Stevens knew he was going to take a bath on that one, turning him into RJ Luis Jr. in a matter of two transactions.

The track record here is reason to believe in Boston’s process, which is obvious now: Bridge this gap year, as Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery, in order to reconfigure the roster again for contention in 2027.

1. Kevin Pritchard, Indiana Pacers (2017-)

Trades: .900 OBP • 1.357 SLG • 2.257 OPS

HR: Tyrese Haliburton (2022)
3B: Victor Oladipo (2017) • Pascal Siakam (2024)
1B: Rudy Fernandez (2007) • Cory Joseph (2017) • T.J. Warren (2019) • Aaron Holiday (2021) • Caris LeVert (2022) • Aaron Nesmith (2022) • George Hill (2023) • Obi Toppin (2023) • Thomas Bryant (2024)
BB: Marcus Camby (2010) • Victor Oladipo (2021) • Jalen Smith (2022) • Chris Duarte (2023) • Buddy Hield (2024) • James Huff (2025)
K: Zach Randolph (2007) • Isaiah Todd (2021)

(Pritchard served as general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2007-2010.)

In more than a decade as a lead shot-caller for NBA organizations, Pritchard has whiffed only twice on the trade market. Otherwise, he has regularly reached base, which is good reason not to trade with him.

The Sacramento Kings learned that the hard way, dealing Tyrese Haliburton in exchange for Domantas Sabonis in 2022. Sabonis is a fine player, an All-Star even, but as we learned this past season, Haliburton is a transformative figure, raising the collective level of a team Pritchard has steadily built piece by piece.

Pritchard landing at No. 1 on this list is a nice reminder that we are doing something right around here. His Pacers reached the NBA Finals on the backs of Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and a bounty of depth, and you do not luck into a roster like that. It takes making smart decisions over and over until they pay off.

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