Danny Ainge steps down after 18 years leading the Celtics; Brad Stevens to assume role

When Danny Ainge suffered his second heart attack two years ago prior to Game 2 in Milwaukee — it was 10 years after his first — the Celtics president began earnestly re-evaluating his life.

The NBA, after two crammed, irregular seasons impacted by COVID, has changed. So has Ainge, who announced his retirement Wednesday, not even a full day after his team was eliminated by Brooklyn in the first round of the playoffs.

“It was my decision. Like I said, I started it when I had health issues two years ago in the playoffs and I started thinking about it then. You’re surrounded by your six children in the hospital and they’re saying, ‘Hey, you need to quit doing this for work, it’s causing you too much stress,’ ” he said. “That’s probably when I started thinking about it. And these last two years have been tough.

“In the bubble and all the rules and scrutiny and protocols that we had to go through has not made the job as much fun,” said Ainge. “The job — we haven’t been able to have scouts or draft workouts. So the job hasn’t been as much fun. I don’t know if there was a moment in time but I trust my instincts and my instincts told me a couple months ago that it was time for me to move on and that’s what’s best for us, that’s what’s best for the Celtics.”

Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca asked Ainge if he needed more time when he told them shortly after the March 25 trade deadline, but the now-former Celtics president was resolute.

And he was comfortable leaving the job in the most seamless way possible, by handing the managerial duties to Brad Stevens.

Wednesday’s announcements come at the end of the most disappointing season in Stevens’ eight-year run as Celtics coach. Indeed, it was also one of the most underwhelming in Ainge’s 18-year run as the head of basketball operations.

But Ainge denied that the results and pressures from the 36-36 season, when criticisms of Ainge and Stevens hit a peak, played a decisive role in his decision.

“I don’t think it did much. I’ve been through a lot of bad seasons before in my lifetime, or, you know … we haven’t had very many bad seasons, but seasons where we didn’t play as well as we hoped,” he said. “But this is not a this-moment, this-season decision. This is well-thought out much before that, and I’ve always trusted my instincts, and my instincts have told me this is the right time for me, and my family and for the Boston Celtics.

“And 18 years ago when I was hired by Steve and Wyc, I mean, it’s rare in this business where there’s so much public scrutiny about every decision you make where you come in and you leave 18 years later and you’re closer and better friends than when you came in, and you have great respect and a lifelong — that will never end. That’s what I’m most proud of, is relationships and … looking forward to the next chapter. Looking forward to the next chapter for the Celtics and for us.”

Ainge will stay on long enough to get Stevens up to speed on the draft — the Celtics have the 16th and 45th picks this season — and then can turn even more to his two passions, his family and golf.

And maybe, just maybe, a return to the NBA.

“I don’t know what my future holds. I don’t have any plans,” said Ainge. “Right now, my goal is to get Brad up to speed on the draft as I think I said, our whole staff will be able to help in all of that and try to make this transition and put the Celtics in as good a place as we can be. I’ll think about the future somewhere in the future.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3vPABNo