At least some people seem to be assuming Ainge will look to trade back because he did it once. I do not think this accurately reflects Ainge's history in the draft. He has, in the past, both traded up and shown a willingness to try to trade up. He has also traded down. I think the apt lesson is that Ainge targets specific players and will try to move himself into the right spot to get those players. It would not be shocking to see Ainge trade down a little in this class, particularly if it looked like the guy he wants would go lower than his draft slot. But, it also would not be at all surprising to see Ainge package the Lakers and Memphis picks, for example, to move up a couple spots to land his guy if we have the 4 or 5 pick and he wants someone who would go 2 or 3.
The Tatum trade was based on Ainge's valuation of the draft talent v. consensus creating value in moving back. If Ainge agrees with consensus and another team drafting higher doesn't, there's no reason to think the opposite wouldn't happen this year just like there is no reason to assume a similar opportunity to move marginally back, get our player, and add a valuable pick would present itself again.
This isn't the NFL, where Belichick systematically exploited a weakness in how other teams valued future and second round picks v. first round picks for years before anyone figured it out.
The Tatum trade was based on Ainge's valuation of the draft talent v. consensus creating value in moving back. If Ainge agrees with consensus and another team drafting higher doesn't, there's no reason to think the opposite wouldn't happen this year just like there is no reason to assume a similar opportunity to move marginally back, get our player, and add a valuable pick would present itself again.
This isn't the NFL, where Belichick systematically exploited a weakness in how other teams valued future and second round picks v. first round picks for years before anyone figured it out.
