Let me paint you a picture. I woke up on the morning of June 2nd, 2021, the day after the Boston Celtics were knocked out of the playoffs by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. I didn't have Zoom meetings for school that morning due to an end-of-year schedule change, so I slept in until around 10:45 AM (😎). I had just woken up, but I was groggily lying in bed while I tried to figure out what time it was in the moment. My dad then threw my door open and, after busting my chops about sleeping in so late on a Wednesday, announced that longtime President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge stepped down from his position, and Head Coach Brad Stevens was promoted to Ainge's recently-vacated position. I was hazy from just waking up, so I thought my dad was just playing a joke on me. But it turned out, he was dead serious. Danny Ainge's time in Boston's front office had come to an end, and the Celtics were suddenly in need of a head coach. This was a move that no one really saw coming, including me. This article will be a rant of sorts, but more organized into separate thoughts. I'm going to delve into my thoughts on how I think Stevens will do as the POBO, a bit on the history of Danny Ainge's tenure as Boston's POBO (which will be analyzed in extreme detail in a future post 👀), and I'll also explain which potential HC candidates would be best for the Celtics. So, without further ado, let's get into it!

Appreciating Danny Ainge

📸 courtesy of Boston Celtics Official Twitter — 📸 courtesy of Boston Celtics Official Twitter

Danny Ainge was appointed Boston's General Manager in 2003. Soon after, in the offseason before the 2007-2008 season, Ainge traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to pair with superstar Paul Pierce, creating one of the most famous Big 3's of all time. Boston would then go on to win the NBA Finals that season, and it was all because of Danny Ainge's trading wizardry. Ainge would go on to make several moves that kept the Celtics as a competitive playoff team almost every season. But despite how consistently good Ainge had been as a GM, he still received a lot of hate. I am very grateful for all that Danny Ainge has done for this team, as a player, and as an executive. Thank you Danny 🙌

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Exploring The Rumored Stigma With Ainge

Despite Danny Ainge being directly connected to Boston's consistently good performance season after season throughout his tenure, there was always a feeling that Ainge never treated his stars well. I believe the stigma was formed after the Celtics blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 (details shown below)

Nets receive: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry.

Celtics receive: Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans, Kris Joseph and three FRP's (all unprotected).

At the time, this trade looked as if it made the Nets instant finals contenders, but the Nets soon collapsed just one year after this trade, realizing that Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were not the players they once were. 2 of the 3 first-round picks that Boston received ended up becoming current franchise cornerstones Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the other pick was traded from Boston to Cleveland in a package for Kyrie Irving, which Cleveland used to select Collin Sexton. Which, gives me a segue into the next example that people bring up regarding the stigma with Ainge.

Another main example that people bring up when saying that Ainge treats his stars poorly, is the out-of-nowhere blockbuster trade between the Celtics and the Cavaliers (details shown below)

Cavaliers receive: Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, 2018 FRP via BKN (which would become Collin Sexton).

Celtics receive: Kyrie Irving.

This trade came after a season in which Isaiah Thomas has a season-long MVP caliber performance. He lifted the Celtics to the #1 overall seed in the 2016-2017 season, but was traded soon after that. Thomas was a perfect underdog story, who inspired everyone, but the Celtics traded him away. This move wasn't a kind move, but it was most definitely right for the team as the Cavaliers discovered a hip injury that derailed Thomas' career. People disliked the Celtics for trading Thomas, but those people don't understand that running an NBA team is a business, and it isn't as simple as it seems.

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My Thoughts On Stevens Sliding Into Ainge's Position

Some people are worried that Brad Stevens is not going to succeed as an executive, due to his lack of experience with that kind of role. Those people don't know Brad. Brad Stevens has always been a tactical person, and he was never the best vocal leader. He is not a people person, but his strategic tactician side had always benefitted him as a coach. I think that will translate well to the executive level. When it comes to how I think Stevens will perform in Ainge's position, I'm confident that Stevens will find his footing fairly quickly and be able to do a great job. Stevens will have plenty of help transitioning from executives that worked closely with Ainge, so I'm sure he'll learn the ropes in no time.

Another topic that I saw floating around the NBA world regarding Stevens replacing Ainge after Ainge's retirement was the involvement of racism in this situation. On Twitter, I saw multiple statements saying that people believed that Stevens immediately replacing Ainge is another example of racial discrimination in Boston. Even Stephen A. Smith had something to say about this topic, saying it was racist and prejudiced for the Celtics to not even entertain hiring a candidate of color to be Ainge's successor. I think saying this is borderline ridiculous. The Celtics didn't entertain any other candidates overall, it's not like they interviewed a slew of potential people for the job and all of them were white, there was no open interview process at all. After the news of Ainge's retirement and Stevens' promotion broke, reports surfaced from Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter saying that Ainge had been strongly considering stepping down since this past season's trade deadline, and that Stevens had been worn thin by coaching since the NBA's COVID-19 bubble in Orlando's Disney World. My theory is that both Ainge and Stevens voiced their thoughts and feelings about wanting to change their current positions with Celtics Governer Wyc Grousbeck and a plan was hatched to have Ainge retire after the season (which is what he was already seriously thinking of doing) and to have Stevens go from head coach (a role of which Stevens had grown tired of) to Ainge's recently vacated position of President Of Basketball Operations. It's safe to say that this move for the Celtics organization is not fueled by racism.

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With Stevens Moving To POBO, Who Will Become Boston's HC?

📸 courtesy of Sporting News — 📸 courtesy of Sporting News

For the first time since 2013 when Brad Stevens was hired by the Celtics to replace Doc Rivers, the Celtics are left hunting for a head coach. Many reports on Twitter have said that, among many candidates that have been mentioned, Lloyd Pierce, Jason Kidd, and Becky Hammon could all potentially be hired to replace Stevens. This segment will give my rankings of every candidate mentioned to potentially be considered by the Celtics to become Stevens' successor, in order of the worst candidate (#5) to the best candidate (#1).

#5. Lloyd Pierce

Out of all of the candidates mentioned on NBA Twitter, Lloyd Pierce is the one that I would be very upset with the Celtics hiring. Pierce was unsuccessful as the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks for multiple seasons, and as soon as he was fired a couple of weeks after the beginning of this season, the Hawks improved drastically and ended up as the #5 seed in this season's playoffs. The Hawks improving after firing Pierce is not a coincidence. Pierce has never proved himself to be able to lead a competent team (Atlanta had been in the lottery in every season that Pierce was the head coach there), and he has never shown that he is able to employ a good offensive or defensive system.

4. Jason Kidd

📸 courtesy of SBNation - Brew Hoop — 📸 courtesy of SBNation - Brew Hoop

Jason Kidd was another big name that surfaced among the rumors around the NBA about a potential candidate for Stevens' replacement, one that I also wouldn't be very happy with heading to Boston. Kidd had decent success as a player, but he has never been able to stick anywhere as a head coach. From Brooklyn to Milwaukee, Kidd has never shown an ability to mesh well with his players. The only area in which Stevens lacked was the ability to be a vocal leader that could rally his players, and I don't think that Kidd excels in that area either.

3. Kara Lawson

📸 courtesy of MassLive.com — 📸 courtesy of MassLive.com

I know that this inclusion might be a surprise to some, but Kara Lawson's name should be very high up on Boston's list of candidates. Lawson is not only familiar with most (if not all) of Boston's players, but the players absolutely love her, such as star Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. If she can, in cohesion with the coaching staff, create a playstyle system that Boston's players can thrive in, I think she'd be a perfect candidate for the job. The only problem is that she has just recently accepted her dream job. at Duke University. But, Boston should most definitely be strongly considering her for this job. She possesses what Stevens lacked, and all of the Celtics Organization thinks very highly of her.

2. Kevin Garnett

📸 courtesy of NBC Sports — 📸 courtesy of NBC Sports

Despite multiple credible sources claiming Kevin Garnett is not a candidate in the running, I think he should be. As a head coach, he could be the complete package. Throughout his playing career, Garnett exhibited an incredibly high knowledge of the game of basketball, as well as tremendous offensive and defensive skills, and excellent vocal leadership. Garnett could encompass everything that a head coach needs to be in order to be great. If Garnett were to be open to becoming Boston's head coach, the Celtics should get down on their knees and beg him to take the job.

1. Becky Hammon

📸 courtesy of The Orange Country Register — 📸 courtesy of The Orange Country Register

If any woman deserves to be the first female head coach in NBA history, it's Becky Hammon. Hammon has received massive praise from people all around the NBA, including recently appointed Celtics POBO Brad Stevens. After assistant coaching under all-time great head coach Gregg Popovich, Hammon can employ her immense basketball knowledge, and she'd be an amazing leader in the locker room as well. I think Hammon is the best person for the job, and she should be #1 on Boston's list of candidates.

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Overall, this is a very intriguing situation, and I can't wait to see how Boston's franchise trajectory is changed as a result of this shake-up.