Celtics ownership hopeful Ainge and Stevens extensions will lead to ‘banner 18 and beyond’
The franchise valued continued stability ahead of a crucial offseason.
The 2016 NBA Draft and the start of free agency are a few weeks away, but that didn’t stop the Boston Celtics from kicking off their offseason with a major move: Extending the contracts of Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens.
The terms of the extensions for both parties were not announced, but Stevens will reportedly have three more years added to the remaining three years on his current six-year deal. That contract length (through the 2021-22 season) will give Stevens as much job security as any other NBA coach in the league for the time being, and it is Ainge’s hope that the new pact will help put an end to any rumors of Stevens leaving Boston to head back to college.
“We’re lucky to have Brad and [his wife] Tracy with us in a long-term situation,” Ainge said Tuesday. “They don’t have to answer any more questions about Indiana and Butler, Duke and North Carolina. We’re very excited to have Brad. Who he is and what he does on the court is unmatched. We’re grateful he wants to stay with us.”
Stevens also emphasized that while leaving the Celtics was never a consideration, but he’s happy to end the speculation once and for all.
“[College opportunities] never really been a question for me,” Stevens explained. “At the end of the day, the only time it gets brought up is when I get asked about it. I think the biggest thing is [coaching the Celtics] is what I’ve wanted to do. This was thoroughly vetted out before making this move and one of the things that I’ve really wanted to do is jump in with both feet.
“I’ve said this before: I was a lot more nervous the last time I sat up here right after I’d signed on, because it was really hard to leave a place you really love and that you feel empowered working with people everyday. I’ve lived leaving that once and I really like where I am. I’ve been fortunate to be here and I’ve had no intention of that from the moment I got here.”
Ownership first approached both parties about extensions around midseason, with the hopes of locking up the two key parts of the franchise for the extended future. With the core of a front office and head coach in place for years to come, Ainge is excited about the stability and unity the franchise can present to perspective free agents in the coming offseasons.
“Continuity helps if you have the right people, sure. It can ruin you if you have the wrong people together,” Ainge said with a laugh. “I’m glad we have the right people. That’s why I love working here. From the time I’ve been here, our ownership has been fantastic to work with and we’ve grown. And so I think stability makes a lot of sense to free agents-to-be and players that we draft. It makes players more comfortable, understanding what’s happening. I think it’s a troubling environment in some organizations where coaches are on the hot seat and become distractions. I think there are no distractions (here) and I think that’s very important.
“I think sometimes that when there is not stability, and I’ve seen this in the NBA and in other pro sports, where there is a lot of pressure and stress in an organization to do something. ‘I have to save my job’ and you do something wrong. You make bad decisions. I’ve never felt that pressure from ownership. I feel that pressure internally to win. That’s what drives me, is the fear of failing. I think that we have stability and the stability is very, very important from a perception of our fan base, of all the people around us in our entire league, of the players. I think all those things are very important, that they see the stability.”
Stevens noted he was particularly attracted to the fact that the franchise valued stability when he first decided to take the Celtics job in 2013.
“I felt really strongly that this place valued continuity,” he said, “That we all understood the process to being great is a process and it’s a day to day thing and it’s a grind and there are good days and bad days and then you kind of have to stick together regardless. And these guys had proven that with their ownership and management long before I got here, and so that was something that I knew coming in that has certainly been validated daily since I’ve been here.”
With a united front in place, the focus now shifts to maximizing a complex collection of assets and draft picks as the Celtics attempt to improve upon a 48-win season and emerge as a contender in the Eastern Conference.
“We were discussing before we came here,” co-owner Steve Pagliuca said. “This is probably the most complicated draft and set of situations we’ve ever been in since the very start because it’s a giant matrix of where these players are drafted, how good are they, how do they fit with the system, and what would their trade value be. So we have the right guys on the job, and he’s put in the computer, and Austin [Ainge is] cranking that thing up and he’ll get the right answer.”
“This isn’t a move for any short-term reasons,” fellow owner Wyc Grousbeck added. “This is a move for the future of the Boston Celtics, hopefully for banner No. 18 and beyond.”
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