In a move than went from a whisper to a bang in a matter of minutes, Danny Ainge is resigning from his position with the Boston Celtics. Equally surprising, Ainge will be replaced by current Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, who will no longer be coaching the team. Stevens will lead Boston's search for a new coach. All of this news broke in rapid succession, via Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania.
Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge is seriously considering his future with the franchise and could make a decision to step down, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2021
Boston head coach Brad Stevens is planning to transition from his current role into becoming the new head of basketball ops. of the Celtics, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
Danny Ainge plans to resign from his role as Celtics President, sources said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 2, 2021
Brad Stevens is moving into the front office on a full-time role, and Celtics are expected to start a search for a new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Celtics staff and coaches have been informed of the changes. https://t.co/yPf6ERS6NK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2021
Stevens has been described as worn down with coaching since The Bubble, and welcomed the chance to make the transition to the front office, sources tell ESPN. Stevens will help lead the search for his successor as head coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2021
Danny Ainge, for all the jokes at his expense, has been a hugely successful GM in Boston. He's had some draft misses but has also had some huge draft successes, and has made some enormous trades for the Celtics. His moves to acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen led Boston to the 2008 NBA Championship. Ainge's move to trade back in the 2017 Draft and still grab Jayson Tatum is one of his biggest heists, and leaves Boston with a bona fide young star to continue to build around.
Stevens' ascension is surprising, primarily because Mike Zarren seemed like a natural successor to Ainge. Zarren has been Ainge's right hand man for...forever. It's unclear if Zarren will remain with the Celtics, or if he'll follow Ainge to a new destination.
As for Stevens' replacement as head coach, Chris Haynes reports Jason Kidd and Lloyd Pierce are expected to be candidates.
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd and former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce are expected to be head-coaching candidates for the Boston Celtics, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 2, 2021
It's been expected that Kings GM Monte McNair wants to make a big splash with the roster this summer. The Celtics have many intriguing pieces, but Danny Ainge was well known as a difficult person to negotiate trades with. There was a lot of discussion of Boston being interested in Harrison Barnes at the deadline, but nothing came of it. It will be interesting to see if Stevens is perhaps a more willing trade partner.
With the departure of Danny Ainge, I wonder if Brad Steven (the new GM) will still view Tatum/Brown as untouchable ?
The Celtics are in a mess, with a real bad and long contract from K. Walker (even worse than Hield’s contract)
I hope McNair can take some advantage from the Celtics’ new GM…
No one is untouchable. But between both Tatum and Brown, the latter is more likely to be traded if the right offer comes along.
I don’t think they’re in that big of a bind – the long term cap is clean, they have all their future firsts. The only real issue is Kemba’s player option in 22-23.
Ultimately, Tatum and Brown are young and talented and signed long term. That’s not a mess, IMO – it’s a nice base to work from.
If the Celtics are in a mess, the Kings are in a…
Hurricane of clusterfuck shit.
Put that on a t-shirt and take my money!
Cool band name.
Out of their lineup, they need to know if smart is going to be part of their long term plans. Aside from that, they’re pretty well off considering how many mid teens picks they’ve wasted.
A team with Brown and Tatum as the two best guys *might* not be conducive to a championship, but they’re good enough and young enough you can try to figure it out. They’re not the problem. The problem was the rest of the roster and the coach.
I like this move for Boston, I’m a fan of Brad Stevens, and wouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to stabilize things there, particularly if he can keep Zarren in-house.
The Celtics caught a lot of bad breaks, and by the time the playoffs started, the only guys that they could lean on were Tatum & Smart. They weren’t going to win a title, but I’d wager they’d have been more competitive if they’d had Harrison Barnes on the roster instead of Evan Fournier.
Breaking news!
Danny Ainge the main candidate for the Celtics coaching job!!!
And here we go!
If that’s the case, let Marcus Smart or Jaylen Brown be the player/coach. If the Celtics are healthy, I like their odds of being successful with almost anyone coaching.
Very obviously with unfit and unqualified people excepted. No one would actually do that of course.
I read they don’t allow player/coaches anymore because teams could attempt to use it to circumvent the salary cap or something like that.
Otherwise, I’d petition for Tyrese to take over Walton’s job.
I accept your terms.
See Luke? You should’ve stepped away from the Kings coaching job and then you could’ve been a candidate for the Celtics position.
He still can be. Calling Viv… Oh never mind.
when they “look outside” I have a candidate for the head coaching job- his father was a Celtic- and this would be a full circle thing- symmetrical and all………….. Coach Luke !!!!!
how about that?
Would anyone here have been willing to tolerate one more year of Vlade in charge if it meant attempting a run at Ainge to take over this summer?
One more year of Vlade, eh?
“Pssst, Vlade. How would you like to come back for one more year? I told Monte he’s in charge, but…well, you know how it goes around here.”
I’m hate-rec’ing this because it made me laugh but also sad that we all know deep down there is a distinct possibility of bullshit like this happening.
Possibility?
Man this picture is so fcked up. Trae and Doncic are absolutely balling and leading their teams to playoff victories. Have some self respect and respect for Monty douche
Word from celticsblog is that ainge may be going to Utah. That doesn’t make sense to me, but I’ve seen kangz before.
I can’t imagine why Utah would want to shake up a front office that’s been so successful.
Honestly, it’s entirely possible that the time where Ainge is an effective GM may have passed. I don’t know whether he’s been trying to recreate his Big Three team from 2008, but even with resources as good as any team in sports, he hasn’t put together a finals team in over a decade.
Maybe there’s a rebuilding team or a fringe team that would open the pocketbooks to let him take charge. An Orlando, a Toronto (if Ujiri goes elsewhere), or Portland.
That certainly seems possible. Hiring a name like Ainge would be salve for the chapped asses of disgruntled fans, provided they haven’t been paying an overabundance of attention lately.
It’s been interesting being here in Portland that no one (or at least no one I’ve heard or talked to) brings up anything but the next game. This might be one of their most consequential offseasons in years given the roster, coaching, and frankly, their front office misfires (not that they’re remotely as pronounced as ours).
I just read the utah Ainge article. It’s pure speculation.
Silly Season approacheth.
Silly season is the Kings season every season
Ainge wants to spend time with grandkids and I believe that they may be in Utah. He did go to BYU and family may remain there.
That is an interesting consideration. If I’m the Jazz, I’m not shaking up a successful organization just to employ Danny Ainge.
Sounds like a Jerry West-style special consultant role to me.
You don’t really think Ainge would work for Vivek, do you? Unfortunately, we have the guys who will work for Vivek.
Oh, Ainge certainly wouldn’t want to work for Vivek, but Vivek almost certainly would want to try and convince Ainge to work for him. A one way pining, if you will.
The sad part is I’m 90% sure the Kings make the playoffs if Vlade stays on. It makes my skin crawl to type that but….
He would have kept Bogi, He would have kept Len, Tyrese still would have fallen and been a no brainer pick and then he probably brings back some useless Vet with “intangibles” like Vince Carter or some weird shit like that. So yeah I would have been willing.
My god it sucks being a fan of this team
Sorry Boston, we already locked up Luke Walton for the next 2 years!
Kings trade with Celtics:
Celtics get: Harrison Barnes and Luke Walton
Kings get: rid of Luke Walton
I am fully on board the “trade Luke Walton for a bag of chips” group.
The worst bag of chips has brought me more joy than anything involving Luke Walton.
For the record, the worst chips are sour cream and onion.
One man’s worst is another man’s favorite. I’ll trade you those sour cream and onion for salt and vinegar. Blech.
I started eating salt and vinegar chips in the pandemic to test my taste and smell, the idea being that if I ate a handful of those and couldn’t taste that overwhelming saltiness, I had my homemade COVID test right there.
I’ve put the chips away now being fully vaxxed.
That’s low key smart there.
Salt isn’t the big thing for me, it’s the vinegar that makes the chips unpalatable.
I started eating all kinds of different stuff early in the pandemic to keep testing my senses. Lots of sharp cheeses, potent fruit smoothies, spiced meats and whatnot. I was terrified in the beginning, first two months everything I ate was either frozen or canned, and turns out our bodies don’t like that!
Potent like jackfruit and durian?
I hear you on the early part of the pandemic. It was instant noodles, pasta, canned goods, and whatever leftover frozen foods I had for me.
I remember walking through Shanghai with my GF a few years back. She wanted to try Durian.
I asked, “How do we find a place that sells it?”
She said, “I think we just follow our noses.”
She’s not wrong. Did you guys end up finding any to try?
Yeah!
(I did not try it.)
If you’re wondering what it tastes like, it’s like a sweet garlicky onion with custard like texture. 😉
That sounds pretty interesting and I guess I missed out. I’m just a coward. 🙁
It’s really not for everyone. Try a durian flavored hard candy or snack. Those are pretty spot on for the durian experience.
My coworker tried and liked jackfruit and wanted to try durian, and after giving him a dyrian hard candy, he knew he wouldn’t have liked the fruit.
I never heard of Durian until I played Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Then at one of our extended family Christmas lunches at a Chinese restaurant, one of the things they served us was Durian. Ugh, it was very unpleasant taste-wise. Probably an acquired taste, but most people there who tried it didn’t seem to like it.
That’s super surprising that the restaurant served it to people who didn’t special order it. The fruit is actually pretty expensive.
Was it the texture, flavor, or combination of the two that put you off?
I think a bit of both, lol. I just remember it was very strong (in an unpleasant way).
I think it was one of the dishes of the huge family lunch price. Since it’s at a Chinese restaurant, the dishes are usually served family style, so for the family lunches/dinners you just pay 100ish dollars and you get a list of dishes ranging from meats to veggies to rice/noodle dishes. Surprisingly Durian was one of the dishes this time around.
Ah, the typical dessert dish with a family meal is red bean soup or coconut tapioca. The fresh fruit would be oranges. My fiance would love that place. Durian with a meal is a great value.
I’m actually not too fond of red bean soup, but when they serve those sliced oranges I pig out, lol.
Ah, not that potent.
But through trial and error, I found a probiotic drink that’s thicker than molasses and has multiple fruit/berry flavors. The strawberry/banana flavor is strong enough that it’s like someone’s shoving strawberries straight into your sinuses. Had a glass of that every morning, if you can’t smell that, you can’t smell anything.
And, hey, it’s probiotic too, so good for the gut.
I used to eat chips all the time with my sandwiches for lunch, but nowadays I’ve replaced them with cashews. I still get cravings every now and then (especially for Hot Cheetos), but I know that if I buy a decent-sized bag I will instantly regret it.
I love flaming hot cheetos. Those are the devil. I open them and they’ll be gone. Junk snacks are my weakness.
i was eating hot cheetos one time when my phone rang and i guess i got hot cheeto dust on my phone because all i could hear was pain
Pringles are the worst “chips” by light years. They’re more sawdust than they are chips.
I really like those and the lay stacks too. I’m a glutton for all things chips. No takis though. I have to draw my sodium intake line somewhere. Takis is that line.
We need a Chip challenge. Which and a bag of chips is better?
Whoever downvoted me has abysmal taste in chips and wonderful taste in microplaned particle board.
I bet it was Otis. He probably uses the Pringles can to store his raquetballs.
Agreed. Used to love Salt and Vinegar but too salty for me now.
Usually I don’t feel the need to respond when someone is offering an opinion that is different from mine…but I cant let this go. Sour cream is by far the best flavor possible and I will fight anyone that disagrees.
I guess I’ll see you in Temecula then!
I think “trade Walton and a bag of chips” would be more fair.
Will throw in as many second rounders to make it happen. :p
threadjack – slightly. Instead of trading Barnes to Boston, what about this scenario. It looks like Portland may be out in the first round, even with Dame going nuclear last night. We all can see Dame needs more help. They have Anfernee Simons in the wings so to speak to man the second guard spot. What about CJ McCollum for Harrison Barnes and our 2021 or 2022 first Round pick? If we need to sweeten it to match salaries, through in JJ, Metu and/or Damian Jones. Seems like a potential win-win.
Kings:
Guards – Fox, McCollum, Hali, Wright
Forwards / Wings: resign Harkless, Terrance Davis (I know, undersized); Buddy (same), Louis King, JJ (?), FA
Bigs / Centers: Bags, Damian Jones, Metu, Holmes (please).
I know I’m putting Buddy at a Wing, but I think that’s his role going forward – positionless basketball and all.
Does he play defense?
That’s the new “Can he play SF”, isn’t it?
I’ll settle for, “Does he coach defense?”
Really it’s—-Does it matter, as long as V is here
no
I could see Monte looking at a big move like that. CJ makes $30M/year, so it would have to be something like Harrison, MBIII and a first for CJ.
Barnes & Bagley combined are at around $31.5 million for next season, so why would we throw in a first?
I’d rather Buddy & Bagley. Keep Barnes.
Me too, but zero chance that PDX goes for that.
We would be getting the best player by far out of the deal. I don’t think Portland makes that deal anyway. You’d need to make that deal with a team on the downswing, who is getting younger to improve later.
Mainly b/c MBIII has minimal value around the league. If Monte can swing that deal w/o a first, that would be amazing, but I don’t see Portland going for that.
Seems like taking a flyer on a guy who can be off the books next year would provide the kind of flexibility needed if Portland wants to try a new supporting cast to Dame.
That’s a ton of long term money tied up in guards.
Fox, Buddy, CJ, and Hali would make up about 80% of available cap space.
That’s a valid point, Monte would have to find a way to dump Buddy…
Even if he could, I’m not sure I like the idea of CJ on the Kings. I’d rather Monte target someone who is more known for defense. I’d prefer to go after folks like Myles Turner, Jaylen Brown, or Brad Beal…if they are available.
And before folks ask, yes I’d include Hali in a deal for Brown or Beal.
Per the trade machine, this works: Portland gets: Barnes, Bagley and Wright. Sac gets CJ and Derek Jones Jr. we’d probably still need to throw in a first round pick though. BTW why would Boston trade. Brown?
There was a rumor to it. Potentially get more ancillary and complementary pieces to Tatum. Something like Buddy, Hali, and this year’s first for Brown.
I’d feel bad about it, but I agree with you.
I love McCollum, and am certain he’d be excellent on and off the court, but if we’re going to take on a big salary, it just can’t be at guard.
I would be inclined to agree, and I don’t think Portland takes any of those deals anyway. I’m not sure McCollum is the problem in Portland, and if you deal him, it seems like an upgrade is the right answer, not pieces to rebuild.
I agree, I don’t think McCollum is a problem at all. Dame just needs more support than CJ can provide, which isn’t remotely a knock on him.
I think it is entirely possible that Ainge just might be done. At 62 I believe he was already one of the oldest GMs in the league while NBA front offices have noticeably gotten younger. It wouldn’t surprise me if the average GM age in the league is the mid 40s. I could see Ainge taking on some kind of advisory role for an NBA team, much like Dumars has.
If the Bucks hired Kevin McHale then Ainge could get Giannis for some second rounders.
So, Ainge is the advisor for Dumars who is the advisor for McNair. Then we’d only be two firings from Ainge as GM!
I think you are right, the worst things teams do is try to get the great coach/GM after they have hit their peak. I think after certain period of time most of us just can’t summon the energy and will to get the job done
I’d rather take a chance on someone on the come so to speak than another retread
On the podcast this week Jerry Reynolds used the example of Dick Motta and George Karl who essentially used the Kings coaching job as a way to pad their retirement.
Did everyone else see the updated news about Embiid’s torn meniscus and the team wanting him to play through it without surgery?
They’re listing him day to day and will try to manage it via rest and therapy. Yikes!
Yup. I’m hoping the medical staff in philly know what they’re doing, outside of that weird situation with fultz.
Wow, won’ that put him at risk of even greater injury?
Yeah. I’d be worried he’d get injured worse like durant did at the end with golden state. I hope nothing bad happens. That guy is super fun to watch when healthy.
Down the rabbit hole we go:
Spurs and knicks have a ton of cap room and are more prepared for a playoff push. I don’t think the following will happen because our idiotic franchise thinks we are ready to win under Lose Walton but here ya go!
Barnes and Bagley to the Spurs for Vassell, Samanic and ‘21 top 5 protected (so they keep it if they jump, we get it if they don’t (#12)).
Buddy to Knicks for Knox and worse of ’21 Knicks or Mavs 1st rounder (right now either 19 or 21).
This still leaves the Spurs with 28 million cap space, the Knicks with 40 million, and gives us 49 million plus some hefty trade exceptions.
With the 49 million we resign holmes to his 12/14 mil, then offer max to John Collins.
I will take the draft picks in the most likely spots (9, 12, 21)
Roster:
Fox, Wright
Hali, Davis, Moody
Vassell, Knox/Moody
Collins, Samanic/Kai Jones
Holmes, Sengun, Metu/DamJones
I really like Buddy to the Knicks scenarios and really think it could work for both teams.
Me too…
The more I look at it I think the Barnes/Bagley to the Spurs could be HUGE for them.
You just know Bags would stay healthy and reach potential there, their lineup becomes:
Murry
White
Barnes
Bagley
Poeltl
Walker
Keldon Johnson
Eubanks
Plus 28 mil in cap space. I think Pop can work with that haha
Bagley is sort of an anti-Spurs player though. They don’t tend to pick guys with bad BBIQ, and Bagley still has to be near the bottom of the league.
No way. He isn’t anywhere nearly as bad as McLemore.
And 1. I’m undecided but it may be that Bagley > Hield in terms of BBIQ.
I’m not sure I see the Knicks giving up a 1st for the privilege of paying Buddy $20MM per year to back up Barrett.
That scenario with a first included would be sufficient, they don’t even need to include Knox.
Yeah I just think they would be open to getting rid of him for cap space.
For a team with tons of cap space and in a big market with major revenue, keeping Knox around for a few more years makes sense.
Trading him may allow them a max slot with the proposed trade
Knox is terrible. I’ll take him back as ballast to even out salaries for a larger trade, but I’d be surprised if the Knicks match any offer he gets as RFA if he’s still there.
Barrett would likely move to the SF spot.
Quickley
Buddy
Barrett
Randle
Mitchell Rob
Toppin
1st
33 mil to fill depth or shoot for star PG and move Quickley to bench
I guess I just don’t see what Buddy gives them that they can’t get for less money, without giving up a 1st, and without forcing Barrett to guard up the spectrum. For example, why wouldn’t they just retain Bullock. He stretches the floor, is a much better defender (at both wing positions), and will likely cost significantly less.
Buddy is significantly better on offense, even with Walton using him poorly. I’m not saying you don’t have a point but NY is also NY, they like names and Buddy brings much more hope than Bullock to fans
But their offensive problem isn’t being able to make threes. They were the 3rd most accurate 3pt team in the NBA this year. But they were bottom of the league in 2pt%. What they need are creators and the system to take advantage of them. All, of course, while maintaining their defense (which a guy like Bullock plays a big part in).
Going into FA, the only positions they really have locked down are starting SG & PF and a fringe starter/key backup types at PG & C. I just don’t see them looking at their team and thinking it’s a good idea to spend a decent asset (The pick. Not Knox) + $20MM per of cap space on Hield.
Obviously, I could be wrong. It’s happened plenty of times before. I just don’t see a pricey, specialist SG being one of the key items on their shopping list.
I think Buddy would create the gravity for Randle and Barrett to operate. Retaining Bullock sounds all and good but he is a UFA and will want more than he is making now. Buddy would be a sure thing for them and still leave them space to go out and sign a quality UFA PG like Schroder or Dinwiddie.
With one of those guys on board, Buddy could correctly fall to that 4th fiddle seat behind Randle, Barrett, Schroder/Dinwiddie.
Yeah, I think $20MM per year + a 1st is a lot to pay for some one-way gravity on a team that needs to fill a lot of positions.