Ainge to step down?

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lovegtm

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I honestly feel...excited? Relieved?

I think it's time, and it seems Ainge might too. Guessing this is at least partially coming from ownership and not wanting to waste Tatum.
 

JCizzle

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Wow. I certainly think he's made some missteps in recent years, but I hope they can find a way to promote him out of the job instead of leaving altogether. I hope Zarren gets a go at it.
 

Mooch

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Wow. That's a stunner. I'm kind of surprised that Danny doesn't want to see this thing through. I wonder who the Celtics might consider for the new role.
 

Ed Hillel

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I honestly feel...excited? Relieved?

I think it's time, and it seems Ainge might too.
Ainge mostly made major moves you make 100 times out of 100 and got some shit luck. I’m not saying things were perfect, but I’m not expecting anyone to come in here and do better than he has.
 

boca

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Woah. I thought if there was going to be a shake up this summer it would be Stevens that might go.
 

Ale Xander

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I think Celtics may have Banners 18 and 19 if Hayward stays healthy.

Cant really blame DA. Bad luck.

Hope it's not sodium related heart issues from all that Chipotle.

I also think it's more likely if non-Zarren takes over that CBS is gone, too.
 

Lazy vs Crazy

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He's created a giant mess for this team, and probably understands there is no easy way out. Team is in salary cap hell. If they re-sign Fournier they are like 25 million into the tax without making any other moves. And we all know the roster this year wasn't very good. A fresh approach is probably needed.

Does Zarren get the seat though? He's reportedly been offered GM spots on other teams and he's always turned them down because he loves the Celtics.
 

lovegtm

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Ainge mostly made major moves you make 100 times out of 100 and got some shit luck. I’m not saying things were perfect, but I’m not expecting anyone to come in here and do better than he has.
I agree his luck starting with the Hayward injury was horrible. I also think he's not done a good job making his own luck since. The misread of the Kyrie situation was awful.
 

Ed Hillel

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With anything resembling your average share of luck, Ainge has 3-5 titles under his belt. He really deserved better.
 

Buck Showalter

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Ainge mostly made major moves you make 100 times out of 100 and got some shit luck. I’m not saying things were perfect, but I’m not expecting anyone to come in here and do better than he has.
I totally agree with this.

The Hayward and Kyrie 'situations' screwed-up Ainge's strategies.

Even if one of those 'worked' --- we are in a much different (better) situation.
 

lovegtm

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The problem is that nothing goes perfectly--the franchise was still in great shape even with Hayward injured because of how good Tatum and Brown got, but he wasn't able to build around them.
 

Cellar-Door

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I think Celtics may have Banners 18 and 19 if Hayward stays healthy.

Cant really blame DA. Bad luck.

Hope it's not sodium related heart issues from all that Chipotle.

I also think it's more likely if non-Zarren takes over that CBS is gone, too.
I think it's going to be Zarren, but also I don't think a non-Zarren GM fires Brad, he has a good rep, and one of the key moves of execs in sports is keeping the respected coach so you have a fall guy if things don't go well the first year.
 

Ed Hillel

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Don’t forget KG’s freak knee injury, guys. That probably cost the Celtics/Ainge 2-3 titles.
The problem is that nothing goes perfectly--the franchise was still in great shape even with Hayward injured because of how good Tatum and Brown got, but he wasn't able to build around them.
Yes, because the guy he signed to a big contract with essentially no injury history had his knee blow up forever. And the fact he was able to create a core of Brown and Tatum was borderline miraculous. Few people even wanted him to take those two, mind you.

The mid-level draft picks have been meh, but he’s done everything he could to get the major pieces.
 

Jeff Van GULLY

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Ainge looked awful in the Mike Gorman tribute video. I hope he can focus on his health. Mike Zarren deserves the gig.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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With anything resembling your average share of luck, Ainge has 3-5 titles under his belt. He really deserved better.
The Big Three team probably threepeats without the KG injury given how close they came in year 3 and how good the year 2 team still was.

We'll honestly never know how much the Hayward injury cost since we never saw that team together, really. But they would likely have been in the Finals at least twice with average injury luck in that time.
 

lovegtm

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Don’t forget KG’s freak knee injury, guys. That probably cost the Celtics/Ainge 2-3 titles.

Yes, because the guy he signed to a big contract with essentially no injury history had his knee blow up forever. And the fact he was able to create a core of Brown and Tatum was borderline miraculous. Few people even wanted him to take those two, mind you.

The mid-level draft picks have been meh, but he’s done everything he could to get the major pieces.
I think Ainge should get all the credit in the world for drafting Tatum and Brown, and his other picks look decemt too. The issue is more how he has built around Tatum and Brown once Hayward got hurt.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Woah. I thought if there was going to be a shake up this summer it would be Stevens that might go.
Why would they be mutually exclusive? Wyc allowing Ainge to resign while letting Brad seek the Pacer opportunity. Easier on the PR than to fire someone.
 

lovegtm

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Why would they be mutually exclusive? Wyc allowing Ainge to resign while letting Brad seek the Pacer opportunity. Easier on the PR than to fire someone.
The only way I can see Brad leaving is if Tatum said he wanted a change (which could have happened, who knows).
 

Salem's Lot

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If Ainge leaves, you bring in someone fresh from outside the organization, and let that person pick the coach. Whatever is going on with that team, it isn’t working with the current mix.
 

Caspir

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Bye.

After watching his "interview" in 2019 about how he doesn't want to hear about athletes and their social stances - but he is interested in hearing Pop and Kerr bloviate, it is clear that he has no idea what the pulse of this league is. We need to look outside the organization and bring in some fresh blood. I'm all set with Trader Danny's 17 team blockbusters that alllllmost worked out.
 

Ed Hillel

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I think Ainge should get all the credit in the world for drafting Tatum and Brown, and his other picks look decemt too. The issue is more how he has built around Tatum and Brown once Hayward got hurt.
Well, I mean, that’s largely Kemba. I consider that a 100 out of 100 signing.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The only way I can see Brad leaving is if Tatum said he wanted a change (which could have happened, who knows).
A new general manager will be looking to bring in his own guy. Danny and Brad are intertwined for better or for worse imo.
 

boca

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Why would they be mutually exclusive? Wyc allowing Ainge to resign while letting Brad seek the Pacer opportunity. Easier on the PR than to fire someone.
Yeah I agree both could go now.

My thinking was if it had have been just one of them going this offseason then Stevens would have been likelier of the two to go.
 

Ale Xander

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If Danny moves on, I think it's either tv or perhaps AD of BYU or something. But even that has a ton of stress, so likely tv.
He's not moving to a non-Utah/Portland NBA GM job. Utah, at least, looks fine without a change.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Brown is probably available too.
Jaylen is the 2021 version of Antoine. If you want the current version you don’t fire anyone. When you hire a new GM he is going to make his mark early......after all, this is what he sold ownership on in the interviews.
 

JCizzle

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Well, I mean, that’s largely Kemba. I consider that a 100 out of 100 signing.
Not sure I agree it's 100 out of 100 when it seems like the medicals were pretty poor and the Hornets had no interest in that money for him
 

Ed Hillel

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Brown is probably available too.
Yes, I mean at this point you are doing what Jayson Tatum wants. I’m not sure how much he and Brown jell, but if Jayson’s like “go get Beal,” you probably just have to do what he says. The franchise’s future hinges on his decision in 2 years.
 

Cellar-Door

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I think Zarren should get the job. He's well regarded around the league, he has a great understanding of the cap, he gives you a new look without a total rebuild.

I find the Masai obsession weird. He's a good GM... he also put together a whole lot of teams that ended up as fool's gold when it came playoff time. The Celtics have been more successful than the Raptors in general over his tenure. He has 2 ECF appearances, and a 1 year rental title. That team is falling apart right now, and if he slinks out the door after not making any future moves this season (ie holding Lowry) I'll think less of him.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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A new general manager will be looking to bring in his own guy. Danny and Brad are intertwined for better or for worse imo.
When it comes to coaches in this league I think you also have to throw in "for neutral" as an option there as well. He squeezed a lot out of some lower talent teams in his early tenure here and has largely been fine since then, which puts him in a similar category as most NBA coaches who are fine.

Brad is bottom-tier at working the refs, mostly fine at everything else. Like most, he is replaceable.
 

The Social Chair

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I think Zarren should get the job. He's well regarded around the league, he has a great understanding of the cap, he gives you a new look without a total rebuild.
I agree but kind of wish they moved on Morey last year.

Zarren will need to rebuild the Celtics relationships with certain agencies. The Thompson signing was a peace offering to Klutch but there is still work there to do.
 

Nick Kaufman

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I totally agree with this.

The Hayward and Kyrie 'situations' screwed-up Ainge's strategies.

Even if one of those 'worked' --- we are in a much different (better) situation.
Let's also not forget that he had the team perfectly positioned to sign Anthony Davis and he didn't want to.

Ainge really had shit luck. Seems to me it's going to be tough to find someone better. Perhaps his successor will be luckier.
 

RedOctober3829

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I think Zarren should get the job. He's well regarded around the league, he has a great understanding of the cap, he gives you a new look without a total rebuild.

I find the Masai obsession weird. He's a good GM... he also put together a whole lot of teams that ended up as fool's gold when it came playoff time. The Celtics have been more successful than the Raptors in general over his tenure. He has 2 ECF appearances, and a 1 year rental title. That team is falling apart right now, and if he slinks out the door after not making any future moves this season (ie holding Lowry) I'll think less of him.
No one here is "obsessed" with Masai so I'm not sure where you're getting that from. He is a very good executive who is probably going to be available so yes he should be considered.
I'm very pessimistic that if there is a hire from within that the philosophies of building a roster will change.
 

PedroKsBambino

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The degree to which ownership wants Ainge to look around probably determines whether it is Zarren or not, right?

If Ainge just wants a change but ownership is generally happy it will be Zarren

If ownership is pushing Ainge out (even if only partially) then there's a real question if they want Zarren. Hard to know whether (behind the scenes) he's been suggesting different things and/or has built a back channel to ownership or not. He might be seen by ownership as a course correction, or he might be seen as part of the old guard. Just no real intel on that which I've seen---Simmons is likely a good source on this if he'll talk on his pod.

I struggle to see why Ujiri would leave Toronto, but Celts ownership has a good rep and having Tatum/Brown in place is more than Toronto has so would love to see that. But I don't expect it
 

Mooch

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If I'm the Celtics, I'm going with someone outside the organization with fresh thinking. Malik Rose would be interesting.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Yeah, that Danny Ainge sure had some bad luck getting Brown and Tatum for the corpse of KG and PP. Any bad luck Ainge may have had was cancelled out by his good luck.


I'm also glad to see him step aside. I don't think firing him would have been out of the question. It does make me wonder about CBS future with the team.
 
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