Of all the moves that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has made at the helm of the Celtics organization, hiring head coach Brad Stevens could be his best, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. When Stevens was hired, he had no prior NBA head coaching experience but Ainge said that his communication and work ethic made him a natural fit.
“You know, Brad was an outstanding move, yeah. He’s a joy to work with. I think that not only is he fun for me to work with, he’s fun for everybody to work with,” Ainge said to Bulpett. “I think he’s someone that respects every person in the organization, from the lowest-level people all the way up to Wyc and Pags (part-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca). I think he has relationships with everybody in the entire organization. And that makes my job easier, because so much of my job is managing people, and when there’s conflict, it just makes my job harder. So having a guy like Brad around makes my job easier, and I can focus on more important things.”
The Celtics currently own the best record in the Eastern Conference at 30-10, three games ahead of the Cavaliers. While the roster has changed a lot since Stevens took over for Doc Rivers, Stevens’ ability to manage and guide the team to winning has not changed.
Check out other Celtics news below:
- As the Nets win more games, the Celtics could not be happier as it reduces the chance that the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick — which was sent from Boston to Cleveland as part of the Kyrie Irving trade — being first overall, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes. It’s the last remnant of the lopsided 2013 trade that sent future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn for a series of first-round picks.
- Former Celtics center and current Net Tyler Zeller recently spoke to Jared Weiss of Celtics Wire to discuss his three-year stint in Beantown. Zeller discussed how he accepted a constantly changing role in Boston as he went from playing 82 games (59 starts) in 2014/15 to an occasional reserve last year.
As the nets Win more games?… who writes these articles… they are 2-8 in their last 10 and are 3 wins better than the worst team in the league
Lmao. I thought the same thing
They’re on pace to win 30 games this heat, ten more than last year. Which “reduces the chance of it being #1 overall” which was the point
oh ok, long as its not the #1 overall pick. If its #2 overall clearly its not valuable whatsoever lol.
Hes happy he gave up a top 3 overall pick?
They’re Happy the nets are winning more games. There’s no telling what the pick is going to be, but the more the nets win, the better. Why is it so hard for ya’ll to understand?
A man with the name slapnuts has to make sense out of all this nonsense…lol..
You all should be ashamed of yourselves!! haha…
The nets pick WONT be in the top 4 and .. And Why are you keep saying the seasons not even over don’t you understand the nets have no reason to tank the going to keep winning 2 or 3 games out of 10 while teams like Chicago Alanta kings Utah and multiple other teams are gonna decide to tank to get a better spot. When the nets wont thwy have nothing to lose that y Celtics g8ve them the pickcome on if You can’t figure that out I have something really shiny to sell you for a lot of money
Blakely doesn’t really say what his point of reference is, but I’m assuming he’s comparing their performance to last years team. They are certainly on pace to win more games than last year, and even with so many teams only a mini losing streak away from getting the top draft position, that ambiguity is still more favorable then the Nets being sure shots for a Top 4 Pick as they were in the past. Still, it really comes down to who the Cavs select with the pick, not really the positioning. But pointless articles is kinda Bakely’s modus operandi so I digress
This Celtics fan is paying more attention to the Lakers than the Nets. Nets pick is no longer our concern.
I have always liked that pick more. The Lakers would always be clearing salary, while the Nets would be getting what they could get. The Sacto pick looks good too, the year after, if Philly gets the Lakers pick in ’18.
Absolutely. I know there’s a lot of moving parts and it’s still early but as long as the Hawks keep doing their part it’ll be up to the ping pong balls. Ainge will most likely trade the pick either way but that Ayton kid would look great in green.
I remember Danny Ainge being at the Butler-Duke NCAA Championship game. Ainge told the person he was with, “There is the best coach in college basketball today.” The person he was with said “Coach K?” Ainge said, “No Coach Stevens.” Then he signed him, and his top player Gordon Hayward.
Nice story…Worked out quite well for Ainge..And with GH next season, could work out even better..We can never truly know who is actually the better coach, but he set his sights in the right man. Since he joined the ranks of the NBA, Brad Stevens has demonstrated his high basketball IQ, his ability to make halftime adjustments, his ability to create and implement successful offensive and defensive schemes, and his ability to get the most out of his players..And he has done so at an extremely high level.
By his peers, his players, and by those around the game, he is seen as one of the game’s best and brightest coaches, and he truly gets his players to buy into HIS system…Which is one aspect of today’s NBA, only a handful of coaches can truly claim..Pop, Kerr, D’Antoni, andidk feels like I am forgetting someone, at times Thibs, or Spoelstra maybe, idk?? And for Walton, it’s too early to tell honestly…
Every other coach solely seems to scheme around his players. Which those top coaches do as well, but they make their players adjust to THEIR scheme and for the most part, only target players that fit their scheme..
I still can’t believe GH and PG ended up getting picked 9th and 10th…Although, to Indiana’s credit, PG was considered by “draft analysts” as a very talented and athletic, yet fairly raw prospect at the time..
No excuse though for Minnesota taking Wesley Johnson over any of Cousins, Hayward, George, or even Monroe for that matter..
Good draft for Boston getting Bradley around #19, and still cant believe Golden State took Udoh…I cannot help but wonder how differently today’s NBA would look had Golden State taken Monroe, Hayward, or George..
Honestly, if you really sit back and think about it, drafting Udoh, actually helped lead to the series of events that turned GS into the team they are today.. It’s crazy how even a bad decision can ultimately lead to future success, but it does happen..
Although, with the picks they were given, and where they drafted at, it was an absolutely perfect draft for the Pacers. Even with hindsight, they couldn’t have made any better 2 picks than Paul George and Lance Stephenson…It is EXTREMELY RARE a team can EVVVER say that..So, kudos to the Pacers..Although, they are still going to swim in mediocrity for the foreseeable future…unfortunately for Pacers’ fans..lol