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Celtics president Danny Ainge speaks on state of Boston moving forward

Justin Quinn
·4 min read

In what is starting to become a ritual, Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge made use of his weekly appearance on popular New England Sports radio show “Toucher and Rich” to talk about what has been causing the subpar play exhibited by the team he oversees.

After another shameful loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, the show’s hosts were looking for the same answers much of the fan base, coaching staff, players and even Ainge have been. With all kinds of rumors of inter-team ire circulating in the nether corners of Celtics fandom at the same time majority team owner Wyc Grousbeck emphasized his confidence in the front office, coaching staff and players, the message has been muddled about what the problems and solutions are.

Ainge weighed in on the latter to start things off.

"It's hard to explain," Ainge began. I mean, we talked last week about the intensity level and how it hasn't been there," he added. "I don't have an explanation. Our team is not playing well. We're not playing hard consistently." "I think that [for] the coaches and all the Celtics nation, Celtics fans everywhere, it's got to be frustrating for everybody." The Celtics president pushed back on some of the harsher criticism he's been hearing, however. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1364988645820801026?s=20

He particularly made a point of defending the team's young wings.

"I think that the notion that is this is all Jaylen [Brown] and Jayson [Tatum] or our team is not any good -- I think that what some people don't realize sometimes is that confidence, lack of competence in one another, a lack of belief, lack of individual confidence in your own abilities, comes and goes through the course of the season with most players."

Ainge suggested the confidence will come with time and experience, even if its lack and the impact it has created has been maddening. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1364973784667676677?s=20

Ainge also made it clear that despite the rash of terrible play, he still believes the team can turn things around. "I still am a believer that our team can make a run just like (the) Dallas (Mavericks have) made a run and (the) Washington (Wizards) recently made a run," he offered. "I mean, these teams you're talking about -- there is more parity in the NBA and so it's not out of the realm of possibility to lose to a team with Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, for crying out loud," he emphasized. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1364785999369433088?s=20

"I do believe in my players," shared the Celtics president. "I like all of them individually." "I think they have good futures," he added. "I just think that right now our team is in a major funk, and I don't know all the answers as to why." Ainge also seemed to echo the comments of majority owner and team governor Wyc Grousbeck on sports radio the day previously when it came to using the large traded player exception in the team's possession to remedy the situation. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1364648873826787329?s=20

"What I would say is the timing is important and what we would use that trade exception if if the right deal came along," he suggested.

"But I think that what Wyc is probably saying is -- because we've talked about this a lot internally -- is that the most likely scenario of a deal that we would want would come along in the offseason as opposed to the here and now."

"It doesn't mean we couldn't use portions of it at this point," he elaborated, "but that might prevent something bigger in the offseason." https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1364627054478512128?s=20

Whatever Ainge, Grousbeck and the rest of the front office decide, it sounds like they are decidedly less irked and dismayed by the team's recent play than the fans and many analysts are. A deal may or may not materialize, but to paraphrase an unsourced nugget of wisdom most commonly attributed to Voltaire, they also may want to consider that perfection can often be the enemy of good. https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=Vz2pWRU9a8-1171895-8380&autoplay=on&V=2&format=json [lawrence-related id=47067,47062,47038,47013] [listicle id=47057]

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