In 2014, Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge got a single first-place vote for Executive of the Year and finished seventh. At the time, no one thought twice about it. The Celtics were at the start of a rebuild and went 25-57, missing the playoffs.
But that was the season Ainge executed one of the trades of the decade -- three first-rounders and two pick swaps in a deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets -- and hired Brad Stevens to be coach.
As the haul from that trade materialized over the next four years -- picks that became Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and assets that led to the acquisition of Kyrie Irving -- Ainge never finished higher than fourth in the voting.