On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Edward “Ed” Lewis Pinckney was born in 1963 in the Bronx, New York City, New York. Pinckney played his collegiate basketball at Villanova where he won a national title in 1985 and was picked up tenth overall in the NBA draft of the same year by the Phoenix Suns.
He would later be traded to the Sacramento Kings, who would in turn trade Pinckney and Joe Kleine to Boston for now-team president Danny Ainge and Brad Lohaus in 1989. The Bronx native would play six seasons with the Celtics, averaging 6.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while with the team.
He would later be traded with Andrei Fetisov to the Milwaukee Bucks for Blue Edwards and Derek Strong.
Happy birthday Easy Ed Pinckney! Nothing personal, but I loved Danny Ainge. Unfortunately, that meant I had to hate you and Joe Klein. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/Xf1DE6V474
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) March 27, 2020
It is also the birthday of former Celtic big man Danny Fortson. Fortson — a native of Altoona, Pennsylvania — played for Cincinnati before being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks 10th overall in the 1997 NBA draft.
He was traded that same day to the Denver Nuggets, and would later be traded again by that team to Boston with Eric Washington and Eric Williams for Popeye Jones, Ron Mercer, and Dwayne Schintzius.
Fortson played just one season with the Celtics in the 1999-00 NBA season, in which he averaged 7.6 points and 6.7 boards.
He would later be dealt in a massive four-team deal along with Dana Barros that netted Boston Robert Pack, Hot Rod Williams, cash, and draft considerations.
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