Just a day after the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Brookyln Nets, a major shakeup in the organization will change the face of the franchise.
Brad Stevens is being moved to the President of Basketball Operations, and Danny Ainge who was in that role is retiring as first reported by ESPN on Wednesday morning. Stevens will step aside from being the head coach, a role he has held since 2013. The first job will be to hire a new head coach, and a search Stevens will lead. Ainge will help with the transition in the offseason. Ainge in his 18 seasons helped build the last title team in 2008 that comprised of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. He was the third longest active executive in the league, trailing only Pat Riley with Miami and Greg Popovich with San Antonio. He only hired two coaches to lead the C’s during that time period, with Doc Rivers (2004-2013) being the first. “Helping guide this organization has been the thrill of a lifetime, and having worked side-by-side with him since he’s been here, I know we couldn’t be in better hands than with Brad guiding the team going forward,” Ainge said in a statement from the Celtics. “I’m grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey.”
Stevens finishes his coaching career for now anyways in the NBA with a record including postseason of 392-322, a .549 win percentage. He led this years Boston team to a 36-36 regular season and a seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, before winning a play-in game over the Washington Wizards and falling in five games to Brooklyn in the first round. He led the Celtics to the playoffs seven out of his eight seasons, including three trips to the Conference Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2020. Stevens previously had been the coach at Butler University in Indiana, where he had led the Bulldogs to three Horizon League Titles, two Final Four appearances, and was a two time Horizon League Coach of the Year. “I’m grateful to ownership and to Danny for trusting me with this opportunity,” Stevens said in a statement from the Celtics. “I’m excited to tackle this new role, starting with a wide ranging and comprehensive search for our next head coach.”
