No Half Measures
Brad Stevens pulled off his first two big moves as President of Basketball Operations. What are the ramifications and what does the move mean for Boston’s goals moving forward?
Following their elimination at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, Boston didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a shakeup. The day following their loss, longtime GM and President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge retired from his post and Brad Stevens moved from head coach to fill Ainge’s shoes in the front office. The move had apparently been under wraps and in the works since the trade deadline, and immediately Boston’s front office changeup became one of the hottest NBA offseason topics.
In addition to their staffing changes, Boston had to deal with the elephant in the room: what should the team do with starting point guard Kemba Walker? Walker, 31, joined the Celtics as a free agent from Charlotte following the implosion of the Kyrie Irving era in Boston. At the time, the move seemed like a no-brainer on the surface; Danny Ainge completed a sign-and-trade of Terry Rozier to Charlotte and got the best replacement for Irving available on the market. A former UConn alum and bigtime shot maker, Walker was expected to fill the role that Irving did for the guys in green and complement Boston’s flourishing young stars Tatum and Brown.
But what was on paper never translated to its full potential. Following a knee injury in January of 2020, Boston attempted to manage Walker’s minutes to allow time for him to heal. After an All-Star Game where Nick Nurse played Walker far past the restrictions put in place, Walker never fully recovered. After the game, Walker had to have his knee drained. Even with the season paused due to COVID, Boston’s star guard couldn’t seem to fully shake his injury, and towards the end of “The Bubble”, his health waned.
With an extremely short layover leading into the 2020–21 season, Walker was held out until January of 2021 so he could receive a stem cell injection into his ailing knee. For the entirety of the 2020–21 season, Boston held Kemba out on the second night of back-to-backs as part of his injury management. Walker struggled with consistency during the season, and the Celtics as a team underperformed their hopes and expectations. It’s been a trying season for a lot of teams in the NBA, and the Celtics are no exception. While the failures and downfalls of the team were not singularly because of Walker, he was a part of the team’s shortcomings through no real fault of his own. Injuries happen, and sometimes players are never the same as they once were when the dust finally settles.
Boston and Walker reached a crossroads this offseason due to his health and contract. Owed just over $36 Million this season and a player option of $37.65 Million next season that he would be foolish to turn down, Walker had suddenly morphed into an albatross deal. As a great teammate and locker room presence, Kemba had helped Boston with a cultural reset in the fallout of Kyrie Irving’s departure. But with years of wear and tear finally rearing its ugly head, Walker’s knee became a long-term concern, one that Danny Ainge left for Brad Stevens to resolve. President Stevens didn’t wait long to sort it out.
As his first trade, Stevens sent Kemba Walker, the 16th overall pick in the 2021 Draft, and a future 2nd round pick to Oklahoma City for former Celtic Al Horford, young center prospect Moses Brown, and a future 2nd round pick. With the move, Boston save $9 Million this season, and left the door open down the line for a max contract slot in the summer of 2022. Horford’s return to the Celtics is a welcome change for both parties, as things haven’t exactly been peachy since his departure in the offseason of 2019. After signing a big money deal to the tune of four years, $109 Million with the 76ers, he was traded only after one year into his deal to the Thunder in a salary dump. The Thunder made clear their intentions of going with the youth movement last season, and both Horford and the team thought it best for him to sit out the remaining games to preserve his good health.
Al Horford’s return is good for a multitude of reasons. His veteran presence and familiarity with key Celtics should play into his favor. In addition, Horford embracing the second chance he has with Boston and speaking glowingly about the team is good optics and vibes following a tough season. Former and now newfound teammates reached out almost immediately, which is always a good sign that he’s welcomed with open arms.
Just under a week later, Brad Stevens made another huge move by signing Brooklyn Nets Assistant Ime Udoka to be Boston’s new Head Coach. Udoka is the 18th coach in franchise history, and has experience both as a player and assistant. He won a championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, and served as an assistant under NBA Legend Greg Popovich for 7 years (2012–2019). He then left for one year to join Philadelphia as an assistant (coaching then-76er Al Horford) before landing as an assistant for the Nets.
Udoka has been praised for his defense-first style, as well as his ability to form connections with players on a personal level. His knack of establishing strong relationships hasn’t gone unnoticed, and even helped land veteran LaMarcus Aldridge in San Antonio during his free agency years ago.
The most promising sign with Udoka’s hiring is the process that Brad Stevens went through with his core players. Stevens consulted Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart for their input and all three gave their vote for Udoka. All members of the trio played under Udoka for Team USA in 2019, and were impressed by him and pushed for Udoka to be their next coach.
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With the support of crucial Celtics players, the choice became clear for Brad Stevens, and he didn’t hesitate to seal the deal. Udoka was announced on Wednesday of this week, with rumors already swirling about potential assistants such as Sam Cassell or Darvin Ham; Udoka is expected to hire someone he has familiarity with from his various coaching jobs.
From an organizational standpoint, it’s huge that Boston made this move now before the draft and free agency. It’s worth noting how quickly both the trade of Walker and signing of Udoka happened, with the front office acting with certainty and conviction. For all of the good that Danny Ainge brought with a great deal of his trading and asset management, there was a sense of restraint in the past few years to make moves, both good and bad.
Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis were all tied to Boston in trade talks, and Ainge rightfully didn’t push all chips to the middle of the table for those guys; while they could bring a title to Boston, it would have cost Boston one of their cornerstones and then some for most likely a rental. But it’s my belief the aftermath of the 2018–19 season for Boston was the beginning of the end for Danny Ainge with Boston. Through no fault of his own, the Kyrie Irving deal didn’t pan out, and that sent the Celtics into a scramble to pivot in a new direction. Ainge hesitated to take any big swings after getting burned, and rightfully so; his and Boston’s reputation took a hit for trading Isaiah Thomas after playing through injury, and teams were wary of dealing with Ainge in trades. Nobody wanted to be swindled.
The way Stevens has approached this offseason in his new position is a sharp contrast to the past few years, and the team hasn’t been slow to make necessary changes. Part of that is the sense of urgency to move Walker in what Boston viewed as a positive trade, as the Celtics are freeing up cap now (and later) while getting solid production from a familiar face. With Horford, Boston can get the most out of their defense and have a big that can facilitate for others, switch, hit threes, and be a calming presence in a locker room that needs experience.
Ime Udoka has the seal of approval from key players, and Stevens sought out and valued their input. It’s not to say that Danny Ainge didn’t, but the relationship between Stevens and this roster is certain to be stronger after years of working alongside each other night in and night out. Hiring a coach that’s being praised for his ability to establish strong personal bonds within his locker room is proof that Boston’s approach is becoming more unified and connected.
It seems clear that the organization is trying to reestablish the feeling of culture and unity that was the earmark of so many Celtics teams of old; after a trying season where there seemed to be disconnect at times, all of the moves so far under Stevens have been promising steps in the right direction. There’s a set goal in mind, and this iteration of the Celtics front office seems intent on helping it to fruition.
