The news of Danny Ainge’s retirement and Brad Stevens’ ascension to Celtics team president caught some in the NBA by surprise.
“A lot of us thought (Ainge) or (Stevens) may be let go, but I didn’t see Brad moving upstairs,” one opposing exec said.
Ainge, of course, hired Stevens in 2013. The executive and head coach helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference Finals three times in a four-year span. But Boston failed to meet expectations during 2020-21, a season in which they were beset by injuries.
At one point in the regular season as the Celtics were struggling, a prominent member of the Celtics organization wanted to fire Stevens immediately, per SNY sources familiar with the matter.
Ainge was among those in the organization who were against the decision, sources say. Clearly, the organization ultimately sided with Ainge at the time and kept Stevens.
Now, Ainge is out and Stevens is running the organization.
It will be interesting to see how Stevens approaches free agents like Evan Fournier. Ainge said in a press conference that Stevens didn’t always agree with moves made by the Celtics’ front office. Boston traded for Fournier in late March.
The Knicks had conversations with Orlando prior to the trade deadline about acquiring Fournier, per sources.
Why is this worth noting?
Tom Thibodeau recently credited the Hawks for surrounding Trae Young with solid shooters. He didn’t come out and say that the Knicks needed more shooting. But it’s easy to make the connection between his comments about Atlanta and how he values perimeter shooting.
Given the Knicks’ past interest in Fournier, they could be among the suitors for him this offseason.