Ainge or Stevens? Who deserves more credit for where we are?

[JSD]

It turns out, Danny's biggest mistake may have been not firing Brad. 

Brad is the one who got burnt out.  Brad is the one who lost the team.  I mean, last season was the only year -- probably in his life -- where Marcus Smart wasn't a passionate dirt dog of a player, and that was under Brad.  Brad never moved Kemba to the bench.  Brad underplayed Timelord.

I'm even wondering if Danny brought in Fournier to appease Brad's desire for shooting or to inject life into the listless team that Brad was overseeing.

This is an excellent point. I think what happened was everybody involved knew that there needed to be a change at coach. From there, I think that痴 when Ainge decided to resign because he had an opportunity in Utah And that would allow Stevens to just step into his role.

[Goldstar88]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

[cman88]

Ainge brought in the talent that makes up the core of this team. Everyone but Williams was drafted or signed by ainge. So I give him credit.

But, I give Stevens credit for ridding this team of anyone who didn't play defense and putting smart in a role that suits him.

But all of this was due to ainge. This is the culmination of what started when he traded KG and Pierce

[sgrogan]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

[cman88]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

I think Stevens is a great basketball mind but for whatever reason couldn't get the team to buy in and manage personalities. Ime has been able to get everyone to buy in to his defensive scheme which is a big part of the success

Also Stevens trading away anyone who was a defensive liability. Now was wanting those guys an ainge thing or Stevens?

[colincb]

Ainge; the entire rotation aside from Derrick White are made up of guys he drafted/signed; Stevens gets credit for bringing Al back, but it was his first go-around that got him engrained into the culture.

The Horford deal was reportedly months in the making and the timing was unusual. I wouldn't be surprised if Ainge really had a hand it, but who knows until the book comes out. I'm sure Ime had a lot to do with White coming here too BTW.

Otherwise, Ainge assembled the talent and got my vote.

[gouki88]

I'm going with Ainge. Drafted the Jays, Smart, Rob, PP and Grant, hired Stevens and then was the one who introduced him to Horford and Theis. Without Ainge, we have potentially no stars, no DPOY, no super-vet and no Stevens.

Stevens obviously deserves some credit though. He hired Ime, made a gutsy trade to send out a first to get Al back, and brought in D-White.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

This take is so far from the truth as we know it, that I'm not sure how to address it...

[sgrogan]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

This take is so far from the truth as we know it, that I'm not sure how to address it...

How so?

[footey]

Udoka.

[Goldstar88]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

What痴 more important: drafting Tatum, Brown, Smart, Rob, Grant, Pritchard while bringing Brad into the organization or the hiring of Udoka, bringing back two players in Al and Theis that Ainge had initially signed. Stevens tweaked things, but Danny did all the heavy lifting.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

This take is so far from the truth as we know it, that I'm not sure how to address it...

How so?

Ainge didn't let Horford walk. Yes, he we were prepared to go on without him when our players began leaving, so paying and retaining Horford was not a priority at that point. Things changed when we did the Kemba trade, but Horford had accepted a deal with Philly (in record time, which begs the question if rules were broken). So this is a [dang] if you do, [dang]ed if you don't situation because retaining Horford before we had manged to get Kemba would have been a mistake in many ways. It was just unfortunate that Horford accepted that quickly, but given the contract he got... who can blame him?

Secondly, Ainge didn't hoard his assets... he found no trading partners. We got continuous reports of Ainge making overpaying offers, offers were not accepted (and in some cases other teams accepting lesser deals). And yes, he has valued his young players... and we have seen, that it has been with reason.

So I think those 2 views in particular from which you're judging Ainge is a bit far off.

[sgrogan]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

What痴 more important: drafting Tatum, Brown, Smart, Rob, Grant, Pritchard while bringing Brad into the organization or the hiring of Udoka, bringing back two players in Al and Theis that Ainge had initially signed. Stevens tweaked things, but Danny did all the heavy lifting.

We had all those players last year, except Al.
Danny quit, Stevens got promoted, Ime got hired.
I'm half joking, but what are the differences between this year and last year?

[nickagneta]

I'll give 80% credit to Ainge and 20% to Stevens with the caveat that sometimes it's the final 20% that gets done that's the most important. That 20% can be the difference between a house and a mansion or a dinner and a culinary delight or a good team and a world champion.

[sgrogan]

Considering Ainge drafted the entire core and brought Stevens in as a coach, I知 going to go with Ainge.

Considering Ainge let Al walk and traded Theis, and PBS hired Ime, I'me going with Stevens.

I think none of it happens without the other.

Ainge hoarded his assets, so that might have cost us a prior championship, he didn't trade the young guys which might win us a championship,

Stevens had a big rotation that may have cost them wins, the young guys are benefiting now.

I think Stevens and Ime worked well as Ime just wouldn't play non-defensive players given any choice.

This take is so far from the truth as we know it, that I'm not sure how to address it...

How so?

Ainge didn't let Horford walk. Yes, he we were prepared to go on without him when our players began leaving, so paying and retaining Horford was not a priority at that point. Things changed when we did the Kemba trade, but Horford had accepted a deal with Philly (in record time, which begs the question if rules were broken). So this is a [dang] if you do, [dang]ed if you don't situation because retaining Horford before we had manged to get Kemba would have been a mistake in many ways. It was just unfortunate that Horford accepted that quickly, but given the contract he got... who can blame him?

Secondly, Ainge didn't hoard his assets... he found no trading partners. We got continuous reports of Ainge making overpaying offers, offers were not accepted (and in some cases other teams accepting lesser deals). And yes, he has valued his young players... and we have seen, that it has been with reason.

So I think those 2 views in particular from which you're judging Ainge is a bit far off.

I don't think Ainge did badly, given the circumstances.

But Horford did leave. He's back under the contract we couldn't meet at the time. Theis is also back on a contract we couldn't meet, due to tax considerations. These moves happened, perhaps with good reason, but the fact they did doesn't deviate from truth.

Ainge may not have found willing partners but we were forced to trade first round picks into the future and draft "draft and stash" players because we couldn't find a willing partner to give us more. Maybe this isn't hoarding, but holding the assets, diminished their value in hindsight. Again I don't see this as far from Truth.