What Joe Dumars said about the Blazers trade for Danny Ainge: "He's a championship player; they were a good team, and he just adds to that"

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After 8 seasons with the Boston Celtics, there was no question that Danny Ainge was a player who could be of good use to any team. That ball club happened to be the Portland Trail Blazers, landing there following a trade in August 1990.

The BYU product did not disappoint when he joined the Blazers. He fit in nicely, spending three seasons there and averaging 9.6 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 222 regular-season games.

Although those numbers were a tad lower compared to his Celtics' years, Ainge was tasked with providing veteran leadership and experience to a star-studded Portland team. He came off the bench and provided the spark that then-coach Rick Adelman needed.

Trailblazing acquisition

Considering the Trail Blazers already had the likes of Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey on the roster, Ainge just needed to come in when he was needed. There were games where he had to step up for the team.

One such instance happened in November 1990, when the Trail Blazers faced the Detroit Pistons. Ainge played a pivotal role in that contest. He came off the bench to score 15 points and three steals, helping Portland win 113-101 over the Pistons.

That performance got the attention of some Detroit players. One in particular was Joe Dumars, someone who knows Danny pretty well.

"He's a championship player and a respected backcourt player in this league. They were a good team anyway and he just adds to that," the two-time NBA champion guard said via UPI.

Ainge averaged 11.1 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 80 games that season. He never started for Portland and settled for a backup role. Regardless, his efforts were noteworthy, with the All-Star guard figuring prominently in the Sixth Man of the Year award race.

After two seasons with the Trail Blazers, Ainge moved to his fourth and final team, the Phoenix Suns. He retired at the end of the 1994-95 season, capping a colorful basketball career.

Fitting end after atrocious start

Things were not always smooth for the 6-foot-5 guard, who needed three years to prove his abilities. After opting to play basketball over baseball, Ainge had difficulty convincing former Celtics coach Bill Fitch that he could play hoops.

Ainge joined the Cs a year after Boston won the championship at the expense of the Houston Rockets. Understandably, Fitch was pretty tough on the young players at the time. Kevin McHale witnessed all of that, pointing out how Fitch failed to make the most out of Ainge's freakish talent.

"He's a freakish athlete. How fast was Danny? He would just run and run, but that poor guy. I felt so sorry for him," the 7-time All-Star said on the Cedric Maxwell podcast.

Regardless, things panned out for Ainge in the 1984-85 season. He established himself as one of the best guards in the NBA, winning two titles with Boston (1984 and 1986). Aside from that, he got his first and only All-Star nod in 1988.