For years, people considered Danny Ainge to be one of the savviest GMs in the NBA. He orchestrated several major moves and allowed the Boston Celtics to rebuild while staying competitive.
Others felt like Ainge was just too enamored with his draft picks and didn’t make the most of his leverage to take another star to the TD Garden. Whatever is the case, his tenure was more of a success than a failure as they have one of the best young cores in the league.
But now that Ainge is months removed fromhis position and decided to become the Utah Jazz’s CEO and alternate governor, it doesn’t seem like he was all too comfortable at Massachusetts.
Danny Ainge Says He Needed A Break From Boston
“I needed a break from Boston,” Ainge said in his press conference, as quoted by NBC Sports. “And by the way, my 26 years in Boston were an amazing experience. I’ll always be grateful. One of the greatest things I’ve learned in this business was the relationships you build. Championship rings are our goals, and that’s what you really build a bond when you are trying to work for a championship. But the things I really cherish over those 26 years are the relationships that I developed. Those will always be there.”
“I’ve taken six or seven months off, and I’ve gotten a good break,” Ainge added. “I feel like I’m energized and ready to come back and get back to work. This is a different role, a unique role, getting the opportunity to work with [the Jazz] ownership and work with [head coach] Quin [Snyder] and [GM] Justin [Zanik] and what they’re doing. I’m anxious to get back and get to work.”
I mean, it happens, so maybe Celtics fans should take this with a grain of salt. Also, it’s not like Brad Stevens has done a bad job in his first season as GM. But maybe, that’s not what you want to hear from a team legend.
