The Boston Celtics have one of the best rosters in the NBA, and a lot of the credit belongs to president of basketball operations Brad Stevens.
The coach-turned-front office executive has constructed a talented squad around stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, leading to Boston's league-best 26-6 record. But before the Stevens era, Danny Ainge called the shots and helped the Celtics build a championship team in 2008.
When Ainge stepped down from his role in 2021, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck was shocked, per The Greg Hill Show on WEEI.
“I was really bummed about it,” Grousbeck recalled. “I wasn't expecting him to come in and say he needed to step down.”
Soon after, Grousbeck discussed the vacancy with Stevens and realized that he'd fit nicely as the general manager.
“[I] said ‘Brad, you've got a great basketball mind, you've been in the draft the last seven years or so with Danny,'” Grousbeck furthered. “‘You've built teams at Butler, you know personnel, you know everyone in the league, do you wanna think about being the GM?' And he thought of it overnight and came back and said, ‘I'm in.'”
Brad Stevens then made an in-house move from coach to general manager, while Ainge later became the CEO of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz.
Although it was a somewhat surprising change, it worked out well for all parties involved. Stevens and the Celtics were able to trade for more All-Stars in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, while Ainge is slowly rebuilding the Jazz—who've gone 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Coincidentally, Stevens and Ainge may reunite soon, as the Jazz host the Celtics on Friday night. If Stevens can deliver a championship like his predecessor, the transition of power will have truly been a success.
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