Ainge Retires - Stevens to Front Office - Celtics search for New Head Coach

[SmartWentCrazy]

I will be leading the charge for Lloyd Pierce on this board if we hire him. Guy is an A+ leader and I guarantee our guys will respect him more than Trae.

[exculpatory]

Basketball mind
Offensive scheme AND Defensive scheme
Teaching skills
Game management

And JUST as importantly - the ability, credibility & fearlessness 1) to get up in the faces of our best players & tell it like it is (i.e., no more long 2s JT, no more head first 1 on 3 drives JB, you are NOT an offensive threat Marcus); 2) to maximize & expedite the blossoming Super Stardom of JT & Stardom of JB; & 3) to get the most out of our talented youngest.

And hopefully Mister Rogers will get a lot of help in the FO & be willing to shake things up - moving JB and/or Marcus if it gets us someone like Beal and/or a high quality 4/5.

And, albeit a very good person who smiles a lot, Kemba needs to be gone ASAP!

And sign EF if <20 per year.

[31to6]

Jay Larranaga or maybe a late 20s, very early 30s moneyballer?

Beware the mid-majors college rando

at which point board (myself included) be like:

Watch on YouTube

This is a classic. Nooooo, not this guys, noooo!!!

One of my favorite videos of the last many years, I laugh every time I watch it. Ah the universal pains of fandom!

But why does this Heat fan have such an aversion to Rudy Gay? And not only keeps recording while it sounds like Gay is murdering his family, but then posts it to YouTube? Is this actually Rudy’s agent or something?

[sully00]

How often he played Grant Williams and Jeff Teague

Spoiler:

im kidding, for the record

You may have been kidding, but yeah the fact that he played Edwards over guys like Nesmith, and Grant Williams over Timelord, does make me question his eye for talent. Is he going to construct a team of low ceiling tryhards that match his rotations? That’s a legitimate concern I think. And I just think the guy is soft and not a very strong leader. Celtics would have been better off sticking with Ainge IMO.

i think brad played both nesmith and romeo legitimately as soon as they were not COMPLETELY sucking. edwards was never in the rotation, not sure what you're on about, but TL was clearly a health decision, which his history justifies. notice how guys like grant and semi got buried as soon as stevens had any legitimate option otherwise.

i would question ainge's eye for talent a lot more since he kept putting guys like grant, carsen, and semi on the roster, in positions where a couple of injuries meant those guys had to play big minutes.

The one move I still can't grasp is why did we get rid of Jeff Teague? Theis at least there was a financial advantage moving forward. But Teague was a positive player for Boston and we really could have used a few mins from him over last couple of months and he was playing 18 mpg. I always thought there was some other shoe to drop that was going to make that clear and then it just didn't really happen.

I don't have a problem with any of Boston's players individually but there did seem to be this preference for marginal talents that Ainge drafted and were also cheap vs guys who might be a moderate upgrade. He also had a tendency to move out guys, whether it was Doc or Brad, that the coach seemed to prefer more than he did.

[Jakeopp]

You may have been kidding, but yeah the fact that he played Edwards over guys like Nesmith, and Grant Williams over Timelord, does make me question his eye for talent. Is he going to construct a team of low ceiling tryhards that match his rotations? That’s a legitimate concern I think. And I just think the guy is soft and not a very strong leader. Celtics would have been better off sticking with Ainge IMO.

i think brad played both nesmith and romeo legitimately as soon as they were not COMPLETELY sucking. edwards was never in the rotation, not sure what you're on about, but TL was clearly a health decision, which his history justifies. notice how guys like grant and semi got buried as soon as stevens had any legitimate option otherwise.

i would question ainge's eye for talent a lot more since he kept putting guys like grant, carsen, and semi on the roster, in positions where a couple of injuries meant those guys had to play big minutes.

The one move I still can't grasp is why did we get rid of Jeff Teague? Theis at least there was a financial advantage moving forward. But Teague was a positive player for Boston and we really could have used a few mins from him over last couple of months and he was playing 18 mpg. I always thought there was some other shoe to drop that was going to make that clear and then it just didn't really happen.

I don't have a problem with any of Boston's players individually but there did seem to be this preference for marginal talents that Ainge drafted and were also cheap vs guys who might be a moderate upgrade. He also had a tendency to move out guys, whether it was Doc or Brad, that the coach seemed to prefer more than he did.

[bucknersrevenge]

I will be leading the charge for Lloyd Pierce on this board if we hire him. Guy is an A+ leader and I guarantee our guys will respect him more than Trae.

100%

Good skill development guy with a track record of working with ballhanders like Steph, Jeremy Lin, Trae, etc. and helping them improve in their bbiq of how and when to probe defenses. Well respected by Coach Pop, Carlisle and others from his time with USA basketball, where he has already work with the Jay's and Marcus and Kemba. Off the court, his work with the NBA Social Justice Coalition will no doubt resonate with these players, especially Jaylen of course who already has a pretty good relationship with him. Brad loves him of course. He may make the most sense with one other candidate.

Sam Cassell has been an assistant for 11 years. If Brad wants experience, you can't do any better than him. Won 3 titles as a player including the last one here in Boston with this ownership group. So they know him here and he knows winning. And he knows winning in THIS city which is big. Also a great motivator and teacher as well who will have the cachet to walk into the room and command respect. And unlike Pierce, again he has the NBA playing (and winning) experience to relate to every player on the roster. He's been a top player on a team. He's played with Hakeem, Clyde, KG, Paul and a ton of great players in this league.

Obviously Chauncey too who is smart and has solid credentials but I now put him as 3rd in terms of likelihood behind these two.

[Celts17Pride]

Got a feeling Danny Ainge is going to end up in Portland in some capacity before too long. Situation is ripe for him.

[Feed Your Head]

I will be leading the charge for Lloyd Pierce on this board if we hire him. Guy is an A+ leader and I guarantee our guys will respect him more than Trae.

100%

Good skill development guy with a track record of working with ballhanders like Steph, Jeremy Lin, Trae, etc. and helping them improve in their bbiq of how and when to probe defenses. Well respected by Coach Pop, Carlisle and others from his time with USA basketball, where he has already work with the Jay's and Marcus and Kemba. Off the court, his work with the NBA Social Justice Coalition will no doubt resonate with these players, especially Jaylen of course who already has a pretty good relationship with him. Brad loves him of course. He may make the most sense with one other candidate.

Sam Cassell has been an assistant for 11 years. If Brad wants experience, you can't do any better than him. Won 3 titles as a player including the last one here in Boston with this ownership group. So they know him here and he knows winning. And he knows winning in THIS city which is big. Also a great motivator and teacher as well who will have the cachet to walk into the room and command respect. And unlike Pierce, again he has the NBA playing (and winning) experience to relate to every player on the roster. He's been a top player on a team. He's played with Hakeem, Clyde, KG, Paul and a ton of great players in this league.

Obviously Chauncey too who is smart and has solid credentials but I now put him as 3rd in terms of likelihood behind these two.

I like Pierce too, but judging by the responses I got when I said I’d like him as a hire, we may be the only 3 on the board who feel that way.

[SmartWentCrazy]

I will be leading the charge for Lloyd Pierce on this board if we hire him. Guy is an A+ leader and I guarantee our guys will respect him more than Trae.

100%

Good skill development guy with a track record of working with ballhanders like Steph, Jeremy Lin, Trae, etc. and helping them improve in their bbiq of how and when to probe defenses. Well respected by Coach Pop, Carlisle and others from his time with USA basketball, where he has already work with the Jay's and Marcus and Kemba. Off the court, his work with the NBA Social Justice Coalition will no doubt resonate with these players, especially Jaylen of course who already has a pretty good relationship with him. Brad loves him of course. He may make the most sense with one other candidate.

Sam Cassell has been an assistant for 11 years. If Brad wants experience, you can't do any better than him. Won 3 titles as a player including the last one here in Boston with this ownership group. So they know him here and he knows winning. And he knows winning in THIS city which is big. Also a great motivator and teacher as well who will have the cachet to walk into the room and command respect. And unlike Pierce, again he has the NBA playing (and winning) experience to relate to every player on the roster. He's been a top player on a team. He's played with Hakeem, Clyde, KG, Paul and a ton of great players in this league.

Obviously Chauncey too who is smart and has solid credentials but I now put him as 3rd in terms of likelihood behind these two.

I like Pierce too, but judging by the responses I got when I said I’d like him as a hire, we may be the only 3 on the board who feel that way.

Lets just politely say I generally trust our opinions more than others

[sully00]

i think brad played both nesmith and romeo legitimately as soon as they were not COMPLETELY sucking. edwards was never in the rotation, not sure what you're on about, but TL was clearly a health decision, which his history justifies. notice how guys like grant and semi got buried as soon as stevens had any legitimate option otherwise.

i would question ainge's eye for talent a lot more since he kept putting guys like grant, carsen, and semi on the roster, in positions where a couple of injuries meant those guys had to play big minutes.

The one move I still can't grasp is why did we get rid of Jeff Teague? Theis at least there was a financial advantage moving forward. But Teague was a positive player for Boston and we really could have used a few mins from him over last couple of months and he was playing 18 mpg. I always thought there was some other shoe to drop that was going to make that clear and then it just didn't really happen.

I don't have a problem with any of Boston's players individually but there did seem to be this preference for marginal talents that Ainge drafted and were also cheap vs guys who might be a moderate upgrade. He also had a tendency to move out guys, whether it was Doc or Brad, that the coach seemed to prefer more than he did.

I am dead serious about this. Teague put up 26 and 15 points in his last two games in Boston (both L's to be fair). From that point forward Pritchard's mins went down and he missed time, Kemba missed time and we got a bucket of Waters and Edwards and they sucked negative double digits.

I get that nobody plans on the injuries and especially losing Brown but that is why you signed a guy like Teague in the first place. If you need to replace a starter he is a guy who can give you 15ppg and knock down a 3.

[Feed Your Head]

100%

Good skill development guy with a track record of working with ballhanders like Steph, Jeremy Lin, Trae, etc. and helping them improve in their bbiq of how and when to probe defenses. Well respected by Coach Pop, Carlisle and others from his time with USA basketball, where he has already work with the Jay's and Marcus and Kemba. Off the court, his work with the NBA Social Justice Coalition will no doubt resonate with these players, especially Jaylen of course who already has a pretty good relationship with him. Brad loves him of course. He may make the most sense with one other candidate.

Sam Cassell has been an assistant for 11 years. If Brad wants experience, you can't do any better than him. Won 3 titles as a player including the last one here in Boston with this ownership group. So they know him here and he knows winning. And he knows winning in THIS city which is big. Also a great motivator and teacher as well who will have the cachet to walk into the room and command respect. And unlike Pierce, again he has the NBA playing (and winning) experience to relate to every player on the roster. He's been a top player on a team. He's played with Hakeem, Clyde, KG, Paul and a ton of great players in this league.

Obviously Chauncey too who is smart and has solid credentials but I now put him as 3rd in terms of likelihood behind these two.

I like Pierce too, but judging by the responses I got when I said I’d like him as a hire, we may be the only 3 on the board who feel that way.

Lets just politely say I generally trust our opinions more than others

Just me speculating, but I could see Pierce being very willing to be lead assistant for the first female head coach.

[Curmudgeon]

LOL, Ainge traded away Theis for a bag of balls because he didn't want to pay him $15M per year. Instead, he acquired an inferior player (Fournier) who will insist on $20M per year. And he lost most of the fat trade exception in the process.

Fournier is almost as bad defensively as Kemba. It was no surprise to me that, as soon as Theis left, they had trouble holding opponents to under 120 ppg.

Ainge has not been on a winning streak lately, and it has nothing to do with Horford, Kyrie or Hayward. In my opinion he was a good GM, but not a great one. He had a spectacular success in 2008, but also some significant failures.

[Parliament10]

Read on Twitter

[Celts17Pride]

I will be leading the charge for Lloyd Pierce on this board if we hire him. Guy is an A+ leader and I guarantee our guys will respect him more than Trae.

100%

Good skill development guy with a track record of working with ballhanders like Steph, Jeremy Lin, Trae, etc. and helping them improve in their bbiq of how and when to probe defenses. Well respected by Coach Pop, Carlisle and others from his time with USA basketball, where he has already work with the Jay's and Marcus and Kemba. Off the court, his work with the NBA Social Justice Coalition will no doubt resonate with these players, especially Jaylen of course who already has a pretty good relationship with him. Brad loves him of course. He may make the most sense with one other candidate.

Sam Cassell has been an assistant for 11 years. If Brad wants experience, you can't do any better than him. Won 3 titles as a player including the last one here in Boston with this ownership group. So they know him here and he knows winning. And he knows winning in THIS city which is big. Also a great motivator and teacher as well who will have the cachet to walk into the room and command respect. And unlike Pierce, again he has the NBA playing (and winning) experience to relate to every player on the roster. He's been a top player on a team. He's played with Hakeem, Clyde, KG, Paul and a ton of great players in this league.

Obviously Chauncey too who is smart and has solid credentials but I now put him as 3rd in terms of likelihood behind these two.

I like Pierce too, but judging by the responses I got when I said I’d like him as a hire, we may be the only 3 on the board who feel that way.

As of today (it's always changing) my top two choices are Pierce and Cassell in no particular order.

[bucknersrevenge]

More Lloyd Pierce, on and off the court

Watch on YouTube

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2020/06/26/hawks-coach-lloyd-pierce-difference-maker-racial-injustice-spt.cnn

Watch on YouTube

The last clip of the press conference is just phenomenal. Dude is just a real one. Forgot he coached Jabari too so he knows him as well. Good fit for a young team on the court and potentially a great fit for a city with a serious PR problem off of it.

[Celts17Pride]

LOL, Ainge traded away Theis for a bag of balls because he didn't want to pay him $15M per year. Instead, he acquired an inferior player (Fournier) who will insist on $20M per year. And he lost most of the fat trade exception in the process.

Fournier is almost as bad defensively as Kemba. It was no surprise to me that, as soon as Theis left, they had trouble holding opponents to under 120 ppg.

Ainge has not been on a winning streak lately, and it has nothing to do with Horford, Kyrie or Hayward. In my opinion he was a good GM, but not a great one. He had a spectacular success in 2008, but also some significant failures.

Ainge traded Theis because of the very stiff repeater luxury tax. Very smart move which allows the Celtics to start clean next year.

Starting in 2014–15, "repeat offenders", subject to additional penalties, are defined as teams that paid tax in previous seasons. In the first season, repeat offenders from in all previous three seasons paid a stiffer tax rate; from 2015 to 2016 thereafter, teams paying taxes in three out of four years are subject to the higher repeater rate.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm

No 18 after following the link.

[Curmudgeon]

Ainge traded Theis because of the very stiff repeater luxury tax. Very smart move which allows the Celtics to start clean next year.

No he didn't. Theis would have made less money than Fournier had Theis stayed. And this year they are under, so they don't have to worry about the repeater tax for the next four years. And who knows where the cap will be in 2026?

Next year, when Tatum's extension kicks in and with Kemba still on the books, the luxury tax bill will be steep, but it would have been less steep if they had been willing to pay Theis instead of Fournier. Hopefully Stevens can move Fournier to another team in a sign and trade, and get something more than another lilliputian guard in return.

[Celts17Pride]

[
Ainge traded Theis because of the very stiff repeater luxury tax. Very smart move which allows the Celtics to start clean next year.

No he didn't. Theis would have made less money than Fournier had Theis stayed. And this year they are under, so they don't have to worry about the repeater tax for the next four years. And who knows where the cap will be in 2026?

Next year, when Tatum's extension kicks in and with Kemba still on the books, the luxury tax bill will be steep, but it would have been less steep if they had been willing to pay Theis instead of Fournier. Hopefully Stevens can move Fournier to another team in a sign and trade, and get something more than another lilliputian guard in return.

You're not understanding. Follow the link above in my previous post.

[sully00]

LOL, Ainge traded away Theis for a bag of balls because he didn't want to pay him $15M per year. Instead, he acquired an inferior player (Fournier) who will insist on $20M per year. And he lost most of the fat trade exception in the process.

Fournier is almost as bad defensively as Kemba. It was no surprise to me that, as soon as Theis left, they had trouble holding opponents to under 120 ppg.

Ainge has not been on a winning streak lately, and it has nothing to do with Horford, Kyrie or Hayward. In my opinion he was a good GM, but not a great one. He had a spectacular success in 2008, but also some significant failures.

Ainge traded Theis because of the very stiff repeater luxury tax. Very smart move which allows the Celtics to start clean next year.

Starting in 2014–15, "repeat offenders", subject to additional penalties, are defined as teams that paid tax in previous seasons. In the first season, repeat offenders from in all previous three seasons paid a stiffer tax rate; from 2015 to 2016 thereafter, teams paying taxes in three out of four years are subject to the higher repeater rate.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm

No 18 after following the link.

It is funny how much of perception doesn't play out in reality. People talk Kemba's defense but it doesn't play out statistically. Theis is known for his defensive play but his actual impact on this team this season was offensively not defensively. Fournier is not making any All Defensive teams but he wasn't a problem defensively for this team and generally net positive player.

There was no trade market for Theis and once Brown went down it actually became a very important move in hindsight. I don't love the Fournier move but he is a good fit here and we also probably depressed his market a little bit in that he didn't get to put up 20ppg for the season though he did shoot the 3 very well. I like him at 17 mil or less not to excited to go beyond that.

[makubesu]

With the Lakers now eliminated from the playoffs, I want to reiterate how crazy it is to me that we decided to blow it all up after “underperforming” last season. Get these players a real off season.