Boston Celtics: Why Danny Ainge’s tenure was a success

Wednesday was a day that Boston Celtics fans will never forget. Danny Ainge stepped down and Brad Stevens took his place. It still seems unbelievable.

Seeing Ainge is truly the end of an era. He was with Boston for nearly 20 years. While Celtics fans had mixed opinions about him there is no doubt that he did some amazing things for the team.

This is a decision that Ainge has been thinking about for a while. Apparently, the Celtics legend was thinking about stepping away ever since he had a heart attack in 2019.

The conclusion of Ainge’s career couldn’t have been what he expected. He even mentioned that it was disappointing to get knocked out in the first round.

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Boston underperformed with the talent that they had. When you have players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker, just getting to the playoffs isn’t good enough.

But let’s not dwell on the negatives. Let’s talk about why Ainge’s time in Boston was successful.

Why Danny Ainge’s Boston Celtics tenure was a success

While these most recent years might not have been as fun, Ainge did something that a lot of people couldn’t, he brought a championship back to Boston.

Ainge was also able to construct the “big 3” and bring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston. This was just the start of what would be a masterful trade history for Ainge. He constantly made opposing GM’s look stupid. Just look at the return Boston got for KG and Paul Pierce.

Also, Ainge brought the future of the organization to Boston. He was the one who took a relative risk on Brown and even Tatum. When the Celtics traded back to select Tatum there was no certainty that he was going to be the star that he is today. Ainge deserves credit for taking that risk.

So while there were definitley times that the Celtics struggled, remember how bad they once were. Ainge took them from the bottom and made the C’s champions again. Green Teamers should forever be grateful for what Ainge was able to do.

But Ainge’s time has come. It was clear that Boston needed a shake up and it seems as though Ainge himself might have realized this. The Celtics legend did Boston a favor, he gave the team a chance at a fresh start.

So while there might have been some bad times, there is no doubt that Danny Ainge’s time in the front office was a successful one.