WATCH: Larry Bird talks on when Danny Ainge told Red Auerbach to trade him and Kevin Mchale

In retrospect, it was clear as day that former Boston Celtics player and general manager Danny Ainge would make the move to a front office after his playing career once it was clear he had the stones to push legendary Celtics team president Red Auerbach to trade his teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale while they still had some trade value.

And it wasn’t like Ainge did it behind closed doors — according to Larry Bird in an interview with now-Ringer head honcho Bill Simmons, he was there on that day and a witness to it! While Ainge might have lost a bit of that brashness towards the end of his nearly two-decade career as Boston’s team president, it also brought him a lot of success (and a title) early on.

To hear Bird’s account of that audacious exchange — and the players who they could have gotten back in return — watch the video embedded below.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!