WE NEED HIM BACK: The Owner of Boston Celtics Wyc Grousbeck announced to sell the team
WE NEED HIM BACK: The Owner of Boston Celtics Wyc Grousbeck announced to sell the team
Over the last year, there has been a seismic upheaval within the Celtics’ organization. Danny Ainge, the Jazz’s former president of basketball operations, resigned after serving in that position since 2003 and was named CEO in mid-December. Following Ainge’s departure, Brad Stevens moved to the front office, and Ime Udoka succeeded him.
On Wednesday, Udoka talked about his friendship with Stevens and how a dynamic that would have made other people uncomfortable has been nothing of the like for those two.
But the franchise’s transformation didn’t end there. Kemba Walker was moved to the Thunder in a transaction that also included Al Horford. Walker eventually joined the Knicks, alongside another departed Celtic, Evan Fournier. Boston also made Marcus Smart their starting point guard, believing he would help Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown reach their full potential.
However, with the Celtics and their first-year head coach learning how to adapt to each other, as well as injuries and the pandemic frequently forcing Boston to play short-handed, the Celtics got off to a difficult start, complete with mind-scratching losses. It got so poor that they dropped to 11th in the East, which meant they would not have qualified for the conference’s play-in tournament.
Fast forward four wins, and they’re on their way to raising the TD Garden rafters with banner number 18. Wyc Grousbeck, the Celtics’ majority owner, recently joined on Boston sports radio station WEEI 93.7’s The Greg Hill Show to discuss the organization’s journey since Ainge’s departure set off this spectacular chain of events.
When questioned about Udoka’s development in his first year as head coach and the respect he’s earned not only inside the Celtics organization but throughout the league, especially from players who may point to Udoka as a coach they want to play for, Grousbeck said, “I love that about him.
And when I made the choice to bring him in last summer, I hoped that he already had it inside him; it was just a matter of letting it out and providing him with the platform, backing, and roster he needed to demonstrate his abilities as a coach.
“So this was something he and I, as well as Brad and Steve Pagliuca and everyone else, believed he could do with the appropriate conditions. So far, it’s been fantastic.
I mean, let’s just say it’s been incredible; he’s won two Game 7s as a rookie coach, and now we’re in the Finals. Ime is a wonderful person and, in my opinion, a fantastic coach for the Celtics, hopefully for many years ahead. I’m quite glad he’s here.”
