40 years ago, the Celtics pulled off a trade that cemented a championship foundation

Robert Parish presented Kevin McHale with a jersey autographed by himself and Larry Bird at McHale's number-retirement ceremony in January 1994.The Celtics have a greater history of pulling off heists than any other franchise in professional sports. No executive will ever top Red Auerbach in terms of Major Deals Won, but in an era of greater league-wide competence and higher degree of difficulty, Danny Ainge has pulled off a few mega-steals of his own. I cannot wait to see how the famous Nets deal — which netted Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum — looks five years from now.

I do know this: As great as that deal may turn out, it won’t crack the top two in Celtics history. The best trade — and…