If the Celtics win the champ this year, does Danny Ainge deserve the most credit?

SimonFish · Post #1 » by **SimonFish** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:14 am

Tatum, Brown, Smart, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, Pritchard were all drafted by him.

Horford and Theis played for the Celtics when Ainge was the GM too (even though they played for other teams for a short period after, they rejoined the team) - Ainge seems knows best what players fit best with the roster.

SUPERVILLAIN · Post #2 » by **SUPERVILLAIN** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:23 am

The most credit goes to... somebody who's no longer with the team.

GreatWhiteStiff · Post #3 » by **GreatWhiteStiff** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:26 am

Yeah I was thinking the same thing a bit earlier.

God Squad · Post #4 » by **God Squad** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:27 am

Credit should go to Ime Udoka.

- elite defensive system
- Role players playing well above average is usually coaching
- Balanced chemistry with stars/role guys
- more nuanced offensive system

All in his first year of being a head coach, great Signing Boston. Much better than the continuous carousel of coaching Re-hires.

Joshyjess · Post #5 » by **Joshyjess** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:43 am

I don't think any one person gets all the credit. Ainge gets a lot of credit for drafting / trading for most of these guys. Stevens gets a lot of credit for briningin in guys that are perfect role players and getting rid of guys who didn't fit the vision he and Ime have. Udoka gets a lot of credit for establising a system and culture that has seemingly brought out the best of these players. The owner gets a lot of credit for paying up to make all of this possible. Scouts get a lot of credit for scouting these guys and telling Ainge / Stevens who they should pick, and etc...

celticfan42487 · Post #6 » by **celticfan42487** » Tue May 17, 2022 5:48 am

The most? Yes this is Ainge's roster, Ainge's draft picks. And Ainge is the one that decided to bet on them instead of trade them away before they hit their primes.

Even after Ainge left Stevens did a Doc Rivers on the Clippers and just said "have I coached you before? Come on down!"

Which obviously those are players he coached because Ainge brought them into the system and then let them go (to which I think both teams that signed them weren't excited about the contract they gave in Philly and I assume Houston) as a proper GM should do.

The only non Ainge player is White who Stevens went out and dramatically overpaid for but it's not hard to imagine he did that because Ime said "I coached this guy before" so it fit within the motto.

Ill News · Post #7 » by **Ill News** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:02 am

Credit should be shared between Ainge, Brad Stevens, and Ime Udoka.

Ainge put them in this position with all those moves he made post-Big 3 era. He got the BRK picks that eventually netted Tatum and Brown, and he drafted a pretty good core in Smart, Time Lord, Grant, and Pritchard. That's 6 hits in the draft, not counting the other ones he traded away (Rozier) and still have a chance of blossoming (Nesmith). But he couldn't find the right mix of veteran talent to surround this core with, so he just stepped down.

Brad was losing his touch as a coach the past few years, but he knew what the Jays needed so he made win-now moves like trading for Horford and White, all while clearing some bad contracts from the team. He traded away a bit of draft capital, but he knew the time for rebuilding was over; the Jays were ready to take the next step. One could say Brad cleaned up a lot of Ainge's mistakea, but he certainly benefited from the pieces Ainge left him with.

Ime deserves credit for finally getting the Jays to play the right way, and for maximizing the pieces that Ainge and Brad gave him. He also knew how to talk to and motivate the players, something Brad failed at. He actualized Brad's dream of having an extremely versatile and tough defensive team, which Ainge failed to give him when he was a coach (the Kyrie and Kemba signings didn't fit his philosophy).

So there, those three are responsible for where the Celtics are now. Brad deserved some EOTY love for the job he did this year.

Ziggie · Post #8 » by **Ziggie** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:30 am

You're not beating the heat guy. Boston barely beat a bucks team that was missing an all-star who is their second best player.

Incredible

Never seen such a delusional fan base

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using RealGM mobile app

SimonFish · Post #9 » by **SimonFish** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:41 am

Ziggie wrote:You're not beating the heat guy. Boston barely beat a bucks team that was missing an all-star who is their second best player.

Incredible

Never seen such a delusional fan base

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using RealGM mobile app

??? I am a Bulls fan, I love Jimmy Butler and I am rooting for him.
But since that my team has already gone fishing, I am just interested to know about the perspective of other teams remaining in the Playoffs.

nickhx2 · Post #10 » by **nickhx2** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:45 am

imagine the celtics winning the title only for adam silver to hand the trophy to ainge while the confetti falls while he goes

"sorry, simonfish on realgm general boards said he's the one who should get all the credit"

KodiakBear · Post #11 » by **KodiakBear** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:45 am

Yeah he built the team for the most part. He deserves credit

SimonFish · Post #12 » by **SimonFish** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:48 am

nickhx2 wrote:imagine the celtics winning the title only for adam silver to hand the trophy to ainge while the confetti falls while he goes

"sorry, simonfish on realgm general boards said he's the one who should get all the credit"

I said most, not all.
And this thread is intended to be a question for Celtics fans. If you don't have a serious ans, GTFO.

nickhx2 · Post #13 » by **nickhx2** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:52 am

LMAO this guy

my dude, you're posting on general boards. it's a public forum. when you say something that's worthy of derision, you're gonna get it

SimonFish · Post #14 » by **SimonFish** » Tue May 17, 2022 6:56 am

nickhx2 wrote:LMAO this guy

my dude, you're posting on general boards. it's a public forum. when you say something that's worthy of derision, you're gonna get it

Except that you have actually distorted the question I asked.
If you don't understand the difference between most and all, go back to kindergarten, kid.

Fencer reregistered · Post #15 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Tue May 17, 2022 7:04 am

I'd give most of the credit to the players.

Besides the obvious point that they are the ones making every play on the court, they've grown a lot as men, and supported each other in doing so. The above-the-neck criticisms of them tended to be much exaggerated, but there was also some truth to them.

And by the way, the players pretty much asked for a coach like Ime, and probably had a lot to do with specifically selecting him.

nickhx2 · Post #16 » by **nickhx2** » Tue May 17, 2022 7:12 am

just to add, you're crying that the thread is intended for celtics fans yet you're here posting it on GB instead of celts forum? or titling it "celts fans please answer my question"

???

for whatever it's worth, if you want a serious answer, here's my serious answer

this thread is an idiotic take on assigning credit because anyone with even an idea of how team sports works should understand that building a team comes from multiple avenues, not just one. it's myopic for you to suggest that the person who's been gone for a while now, should receive most of the credit, when the players went through SERIOUS growth both as individuals and as a team over the course of this season, while ainge was working for the utah jazz.

should he get some credit? i don't see why not. but trying to convince others he should get most is preposterous and you should know that. tatum's the one who did work to become a better playmaker. smart's the one who made it a point to increase his role running the team instead of just being some pat beverley clone. udoka's the one who kept the team together and working on the same vision while they floundered through some miserable losses and mediocre play through the start of the season.

the list goes on. it's not about one person. these things never are.

HiDef · Post #17 » by **HiDef** » Tue May 17, 2022 7:36 am

Brad Stevens had them competing way before their prime, and now they're a team of veterans despite the fact Tatum is 24. What was the stat the other night? Tatum has as many playoff games in his career as Damian Lillard.

They're a young team but they're amazing closers and they play super confident.

The way they play defense now also has a lot of Stevens' fingerprints. Stevens also knew from years of coaching them that it was time to ditch the point guard. I also think they gained a lot from playing in his offense for a long time even if they don't rely on it as much now. They know how to play smart.

dans1230 · Post #18 » by **dans1230** » Tue May 17, 2022 11:59 am

He deserves a slice of the credit pie but certainly a smaller slice than Udoka or Stevens. Id say the contributing players deserve a bigger slice as well as Udoka's assistants. He gets a taste, but he bowed out for a reason.

Godymas · Post #19 » by **Godymas** » Tue May 17, 2022 12:02 pm

Ainge was controversial but he did a very good job as the GM getting the Cs so much talent and drafting well

but not enough credit goes to OKC for completely bailing the Celtics out. Kemba's contract was virtually untradeable and even OKC had to admit once they saw Kemba that there would be no way of moving him. He was signed thru 2023. Ainge fell for Jordan's bluff and thought he was getting a steal. Turned out Jordan and co. knew what they were doing letting Kemba go.

LewisnotMiller · Post #20 » by **LewisnotMiller** » Tue May 17, 2022 12:15 pm

Ziggie wrote:You're not beating the heat guy. Boston barely beat a bucks team that was missing an all-star who is their second best player.

Incredible

Never seen such a delusional fan base

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using RealGM mobile app

You think Celts fans are delusional for thinking they'll win before Game 1, as a Heat fan who thinks they'll win before Game 1?

Heh...okay.

Might be best to just roll the ball out and play.