Haha wow, that didn't take long did it? Mere hours after the short playoff stint ended for the Celtics, they were right back in the news this morning with the bombshell news that GM/President of Basketball Operations is retiring from the team while head coach Brad Stevens is being shifted over to that position. The C's hate firing people publicly so this lightning fast reaction to such a miserable season is curious. Ainge has had a bunch of heart issues so it makes sense that he needs a less busy schedule and the team is paying Stevens so much money in the near future that they might as well keep him around in some role.
NBA head coaches are mostly useless, their day-to-day purpose is basically to get out of the way for the star players and coach up the lesser talents while you pray that the top guys can tolerate you. Sounds fun huh? Nobody could argue that Stevens is one of the top basketball minds in the world but after eight seasons here, I'm sure he is a little tired of all the NBA drama after coming from a relatively low-key college environment at Butler. With that said, who Boston chooses is their next head coach is a very important decision. To connect with their two best players-Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-it would make perfect sense to hire a young African-American that preferably played in the NBA in recent years. Getting a retread like former Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce or Lakers assistant (and former Bucks head coach) Jason Kidd-who have already been rumored to come here-would be a mistake. I feel like a guy such as Chauncey Billups-current Clippers assistant coach-is the ideal candidate. He was a great player, won an NBA championship and is tough-minded so he wouldn't shy away from criticizing Tatum or Brown when they needed some harsh words.
As for Ainge, he did not officially retire from the NBA so don't be surprised at all if he pops up somewhere else. Obviously the Utah Jazz are a slam dunk choice for him since he's from Utah, went to BYU and is a Mormon. There was even talk today that he bought a property in Utah in the last few months. Ainge had a great run with the Celtics as a player and then as a GM (the only guy to win titles in both jobs) but it was clear, that he might be too old and out of touch not to mention his drafts have been mostly awful outside of Brown and Tatum. Every job has an expiration date and the Celts need some new voices and ideas. Clearly, they are going nowhere fast right now and while having the best players is what the league is all about, it also helps to have somebody that attracts the best free agents. Stay tuned, if today is any indication, it's going to be a wild summer for the Celtics.
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