Red Auerbach, who died yesterday at 89, often was labeled a genius for his cunning trades and tactical moves in the draft.

His personnel successes far outweighed any failures, but Auerbach did err occasionally in the draft.

His report card would probably rate a straight A in trading and a B-plus in the draft.

Auerbach's best trade was acquiring the draft rights to 6-foot-10 center Bill Russell by dealing Ed McCauley and Cliff Hagen to the St. Louis Hawks. Russell joined the Celtics in 1956 after the Olympic Games in Melbourne and proceeded to lead the Celts to 11 NBA titles in 13 years.

That trade started the Celtics' dynasty in 1957, and it ended in 1969.

His second-best deal was a complicated one that started with the Detroit Pistons and ended with the Golden State Warriors.

Auerbach signed M.L. Carr as a free agent off Detroit's roster. Dick Vitale, then the coach of the sorry Detroit franchise, screamed and demanded Bob McAdoo as compensation.

Auerbach couldn't wait to unload McAdoo, who came to the Celtics when owner John Y. Brown dealt three draft picks to the Knicks for him.

Auerbach sent McAdoo to Detroit for the Pistons' No. 1 draft choice and Carr.

Then Detroit's top pick, which was the No. 1 choice of the entire draft, was packaged with the Celts' top draft pick. Those two choices went to Golden State for Robert Parish and Golden State's top pick, which was third overall.

Auerbach chose Kevin McHale with the third choice.

The overall deal had the Celtics' giving up McAdoo and two No. 1 choices, which turned out to be Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown, and getting Carr, Parish and McHale.

Check out Auerbach's other deals:

Getting Bailey Howell from the Washington Bullets for Mel Counts. Counts had been drafted instead of Willis Reed, who enjoyed an illustrious career with the Knicks. If Auerbach had a major failure in the draft, it was passing Reed.

Acquiring Scott Wedman from the Cavaliers for Darren Tillis. Wedman would have been a perfect Celtic from the outset but to get him for three years for a no-talent center was remarkable.

Trading Paul Westphal for Charlie Scott. Westphal blossomed in Phoenix, but Scott's first year in Boston ended with a Celtic championship. Scott later became part of another deal that indirectly brought Larry Bird to Boston.

Trading Charlie Scott to Los Angeles for Kermit Washington, Don Chaney and a No. 1 draft choice. The No. 1 choice turned out to be Bird.

Getting Don Nelson from Los Angeles for $1,000. Nelson had a career that eventually earned his number a place in the rafters.

Acquiring Larry Siegfried off waivers. Siegfried played five years and averaged 12 points off the bench.

Trading a fourth-round draft choice for Willie Naulls of Golden State. Naulls started and came off the bench, too, for three years. All three years ended with championships.

Trading a second-round choice for Jerry Sichting. Not a dramatic deal, but Sichting played three years and was part of the 1986 title squad that rolled over Houston for another flag.

Getting Bill Walton for Cedric Maxwell. Walton had one super year left in his scarred legs and he gave it to the Celts. That was 1986 and the redhead was voted comeback player of the year.

The draft, where Auerbach also excelled, brought in some all-star players and hall of famers. But there were mistakes, even though the Celtics usually drafted low.

No. 1 draft choices who were blue chips included Tom Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Tom Sanders, Sam Jones, Jim Loscutoff, Frank Ramsey, Dave Cowens, Paul Westphal, Maxwell, McHale, Bird and Reggie Lewis.

The drafting of Bird was perhaps his boldest move.

The Celtics had finished last in 1978 but had the sixth choice in the draft. Auerbach wanted Bird badly but five other general managers would have to pass him.

Portland took Mychal Thompson, Sacramento took Phil Ford, Indiana settled for Rick Robey, the Knicks selected Micheal Ray Richardson and Golden State opted for Purvis Short.

Auerbach scoffed at trade offers for his pick (Jack Ramsay at Portland wanted Bird) and chose the legend from Indiana State, even though he had to wait a year for Bird's services.

"When you have to wait for a player like Bird, a year goes by mighty fast," Auerbach said.

Danny Ainge was his best second-round choice. Ainge was passed by every team since he was under contract to play baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays. Auerbach liked his ability, drafted him and eventually lured the BYU star away.

Auerbach's prime third-round pick was K.C. Jones, who teamed with Russell to win two national titles at the University of San Francisco.

Auerbach's mistakes included taking Counts and passing Reed, drafting Bill Green from Colordo State and passing Gus Johnson of Idaho, who became a hall of famer with the Bullets, and drafting Michael Smith of BYU and passing Tim Hardaway, who later starred for several teams.

Other poor picks:

Michael Young of Houston, Tom Boswell of South Carolina, Darren Tillis of Cleveland State, Norm Cook of Kansas, Gary Philips of Houston, Steve Downing of Indiana, Clarence Glover of Western Kentucky and Charles Bradley of Wyoming.

One absolutely super move was the drafting of Ramsey, Hagen and Lou Tsiropoulis from Kentucky in 1953 when no one else believed they could be drafted. The junior eligible rule was in force then and apparently only Auerbach was aware of it. He took Ramsey first, Hagen on the second round and Tsiropoulis on the third round.

Trading Gerald Henderson to Seattle for the Sonics' first-round draft choice was a stroke of genius. Auerbach drafted Len Bias with that choice. Bias was the second pick in the lottery, but his death two days after the draft never allowed Auerbach's dream to be realized.

Auerbach's moves were calculated and gutsy. They were transactions that maintained chemistry and allowed for infusion of new talent.

His mistakes involving Green and Reed came when he coached and was unable to scout. He often had to rely on reports from former players and college coaches he trusted. NBA scouting was not a sophisticated process in his days. He drafted Sam Jones, whom he never saw play in college, on the advice of Horace "Bones" McKinney, a former player of Auerbach's in Washington and Boston.

He kept the Celtics dynasty alive with his sly moves and deals. He rebuilt the team three different times.

Auerbach's front-office maneuvers were as legendary as the franchise that won 16 championships.

khamwey@projo.com / (401) 277-7340