The Boston Celtics opted for a major organizational overhaul less than 24 hours after being eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Brooklyn Nets. The team officially announced on Wednesday that their longtime president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would retire from his role with head coach Brad Stevens stepping in as his replacement.

The Celtics will now embark on a search for a new head coach. Ainge is expected to have an input in the process despite his retirement, but Stevens is expected to have the final decision on the matter.

“I’m grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey,” said Ainge in a statement released by the Celtics.

According to ESPN, Ainge has been thinking about retirement for several months now and discussed candidates for his successor with the ownership. They ended up deciding Stevens is the most fitting candidate given his familiarity with the organization.

Stevens, who served as Boston’s head coach for the past eight seasons, embraced the opportunity as he was reportedly “worn down” by the challenges of coaching.

“I’m grateful to ownership and to Danny for trusting me with this opportunity,” said Stevens. “I’m excited to tackle this new role, starting with a wide-ranging and comprehensive search for our next head coach.”

Danny Ainge, who won two NBA titles with the Celtics as a player, re-joined the team as an executive in 2003. He is responsible for building a Celtics team that won the NBA title in 2008, the franchise’s first in 20 years. On top of that, Boston only missed the playoffs three times under Ainge while reaching four conference finals and two NBA Finals.

The post Danny Ainge Steps Down as Celtics President, Brad Stevens to Replace Him appeared first on SportzBonanza.

All-Star guard Kyrie Irving decided to leave Boston Celtics this summer and sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent alongside fellow superstar Kevin Durant. Although unexpected to some, it turns out that Irving’s decision didn’t come as a complete surprise for Celtics.

During an introductory press conference for Celtic’s free-agent signings Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter, team’s general manager Danny Ainge admitted that he realized during the second part of the season that Irving might leave Boston.

“I think I had a pretty good idea in March or April,” – Ainge told reporters. “Not for sure, though. Not certain. But I was obviously thinking about moving in a different direction at that point. Thinking of the different options.”

While Ainge realized he is losing his superstar in March, the players around the NBA knew it even before that as it turns out. New York Knicks’ Bobby Portis recently told The Athletic that he and other players knew that Irving and Durant will go to Brooklyn in February.

“I knew what was gonna happen in February,” – said Portis. “We all knew that (Durant and Kyrie Irving would go to Brooklyn). Everybody knew that. I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that.”

Kyrie Irving left Boston Celtics after spending two seasons with the organization. During that time he made two All-Star appearances while averaging 24.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

The post Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge Realized “in March or April” That Kyrie Irving Might Leave appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Boston Celtics opted for a major organizational overhaul less than 24 hours after being eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Brooklyn Nets. The team officially announced on Wednesday that their longtime president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would retire from his role with head coach Brad Stevens stepping in as his replacement.

The Celtics will now embark on a search for a new head coach. Ainge is expected to have an input in the process despite his retirement, but Stevens is expected to have the final decision on the matter.

“I’m grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey,” said Ainge in a statement released by the Celtics.

According to ESPN, Ainge has been thinking about retirement for several months now and discussed candidates for his successor with the ownership. They ended up deciding Stevens is the most fitting candidate given his familiarity with the organization.

Stevens, who served as Boston’s head coach for the past eight seasons, embraced the opportunity as he was reportedly “worn down” by the challenges of coaching.

“I’m grateful to ownership and to Danny for trusting me with this opportunity,” said Stevens. “I’m excited to tackle this new role, starting with a wide-ranging and comprehensive search for our next head coach.”

Danny Ainge, who won two NBA titles with the Celtics as a player, re-joined the team as an executive in 2003. He is responsible for building a Celtics team that won the NBA title in 2008, the franchise’s first in 20 years. On top of that, Boston only missed the playoffs three times under Ainge while reaching four conference finals and two NBA Finals.

The post Danny Ainge Steps Down as Celtics President, Brad Stevens to Replace Him appeared first on SportzBonanza.

All-Star guard Kyrie Irving decided to leave Boston Celtics this summer and sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent alongside fellow superstar Kevin Durant. Although unexpected to some, it turns out that Irving’s decision didn’t come as a complete surprise for Celtics.

During an introductory press conference for Celtic’s free-agent signings Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter, team’s general manager Danny Ainge admitted that he realized during the second part of the season that Irving might leave Boston.

“I think I had a pretty good idea in March or April,” – Ainge told reporters. “Not for sure, though. Not certain. But I was obviously thinking about moving in a different direction at that point. Thinking of the different options.”

While Ainge realized he is losing his superstar in March, the players around the NBA knew it even before that as it turns out. New York Knicks’ Bobby Portis recently told The Athletic that he and other players knew that Irving and Durant will go to Brooklyn in February.

“I knew what was gonna happen in February,” – said Portis. “We all knew that (Durant and Kyrie Irving would go to Brooklyn). Everybody knew that. I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that.”

Kyrie Irving left Boston Celtics after spending two seasons with the organization. During that time he made two All-Star appearances while averaging 24.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

The post Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge Realized “in March or April” That Kyrie Irving Might Leave appeared first on SportzBonanza.