BOSTON - The first and largest shares of credit for the Celtics newly sculpted NBA crown go to the players and coaches. Obviously.

The accolade list, non-player division, starts with Danny Ainge, the man who assembled the players and coaches in Boston.

Ainge, Boston's general manager, was named 2008 NBA Executive of the Year on May 14. One has to figure Ainge's franchise-changing, blockbuster deal to land Kevin Garnett, his acquisition of Ray Allen and the regular-season best 66 wins spawned by those deals were the main factors in the voting. But the story of how Ainge built the Celtics begins long before the now legendary offseason of 2007.

Ever since Ainge arrived as GM and head basketball dude (I think that's the official title) on May 9, 2003, he's talked about acquiring "chips." Think poker chips, what you use to play the game, but also what you can turn in for cash. But acquiring basketball talent is much harder than sidling up to a table and giving the dealer some cash for a pile of chips. And turning that talent into more talent, better talent, is a lot tougher than taking your chips to the cashier's window. Yet Ainge has done both brilliantly.

Ainge the Architect started gathering chips in the 2003 draft and from that time forward he's shown an uncanny ability to pluck talent from the nebulous realm of

the middle and late first round.

In the '03 draft Ainge acquired Kendrick Perkins (27th pick in the first round), who has become, as we saw in his absence in Game 5, a cornerstone for Boston's physical defense. The next year Ainge mined Al Jefferson (15th) and Delonte West (24th) from the first round. Jefferson was the young All-Star-to-be that Minnesota needed in return for Garnett, and West was a key to the Allen trade. These are perfect examples of cashing in chips.

In 2005 Ainge took Gerald Green (18th) and Ryan Gomes (second round, 50th overall). Green has been a flop, but he was another piece of the deal that pried Garnett from Minnesota, as was Gomes, the blue-collar forward who will enjoy a long NBA career not usually reserved for second-round picks.

The 2006 draft saw Ainge trade away the No. 7 overall pick plus Raef Lafrentz and Dan Dickau for Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff. That No. 7 eventually turned into Brandon Roy, and the Celtics may regret that in later years. But if not for Ratliff's massive expiring contract, the numbers for the Garnett deal couldn't have worked.

But that's not all that happened on draft night '06. Ainge also acquired the 21st pick to land Rajon Rondo and then selected Leon Powe in the second round with the 49th pick. Two years later, Rondo is the starting point guard for the world champions and a cornerstone of the future. Powe has developed into a legit NBA forward who was the MVP of Game 2 of the Finals. Looking back, that was a pretty good night's work for Ainge.

If those picks were the soil from which these new champions grew, then Ainge pulled the seed from the ashes of last year's lottery night catastrophe. You remember, that's when the Celtics had the second-best chance to get the coveted first (Greg Oden) or second (Kevin Durant) pick, but instead the cursed ping-pong balls delivered the worst-case-scenario fifth pick.

But when Ainge turned that fifth pick into Ray Allen, worst case became best.

Ainge wisely decided his team didn't need another young player not named Oden or Durant. Instead, he acquired Allen from Seattle for the fifth pick, West and Wally Szczerbiak. The move also emphasized Ainge's desire to build around, rather than trade away, Paul Pierce. That was the best trade Ainge never made. The presence of Pierce and the arrival of Allen proved to be superstar bait.

Once reported to be opposed to any move to Boston, Garnett changed his tune with Pierce and Allen poised to flank him in Boston. Ainge gave up the largest number of players (five) any NBA GM has ever given up for one player, plus two first-round draft picks and a pile of cash to acquire Garnett. That move instantly vaulted the Celtics into the spotlight and now has them basking in the glow of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

But Ainge wasn't done. He filled in masterfully around his troika of stars, adding Eddie House and James Posey. Those two proved their worth all season and proved it again in Game 4's miracle comeback, which wouldn't have happened without them. Posey, in particular, has been like glue, filling in cracks wherever needed.

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