Danny Ainge was forced to make a quick pivot in free agency after Kyrie Irving made his intentions known of a likely return to his old stomping grounds and signing with the Brooklyn Nets. The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations replaced an All-Star point guard for another, but he's noticed the infusion of joy into this roster, one the Celtics never seemed to get during the 2018-19 season.

The longtime front office executive discussed what it was like to acquire Kemba Walker, shortly after the 6-foot floor general chose not to re-sign with the Charlotte Hornets in free agency.

“Well, he had a long list of point guards that were coming out in the draft, point guards that are in free agency, players in our own roster, and Kemba was the guy that became available to us,” said Danny Ainge in a recent interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols. “And now where he has a chance to win. He's winning games at a higher rate than he ever has and you can see the joy. We didn't have that last year, even when we were playing well. We didn't really find the happiness in playing and the joy of playing with one another. So yeah, Kemba was a great fit for us.”

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Boston fans have been encouraged with the Celtics' performance while Walker's teammates have raved about his demeanor and his innate ability to jell well in the locker room. The Bronx native had the advantage of playing alongside Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum as part of Team USA, which gave him six additional weeks to build some rapport and develop camaraderie.

Kemba Walker has been a leader on the court, averaging a team-high 21.1 points, but also a leader of men in the locker room — getting his teammates to play for one another as they are off to a 12-4 start to the season.