He’s now an executive with the Utah Jazz, for crying out loud, and Brad oozes Celtic Pride and will prove to be the better GM very soon when he matches Danny’s one title in, what, 16 years?
I think the argument you're making is why this thread was started.
Ultimately it is titles that matter, yes, but you have to look at a guy's starting point.
Danny took over a mediocre squad in 2003. He tore that team down, won a title, made it to the Finals two years later, and then tore that team down. He rebuilt that team into a team that reached the ECF three times in four years, and that's despite very bad luck.
Brad is taking over a team that was in the Eastern Conference Finals less than two years ago. He inherited Tatum, Brown, Smart and Williams.
And, Brad lost his team as coach and was "burnt out", so I'm not sure about the Celtics Pride thing. He got mediocre at his job, to the point where his players were pretty happy when a new coach was hired.
Ultimately, you're making a "born on third base and saying he hit a triple" argument.
Without Brad Stevens, we never would have had a wiz coach who could win with anybody, so we never see IT take off as an MVP candidate in Boston and we never see Horford decide to sign here because Durant/Horford would not have given us the time of day without Stevens. There’s no Hayward signing. There’s no all-star IT to trade for Kyrie.
In the alternate universe above, we suck 2013-2017 and Ainge is fired in 2017 or 2018 for being unable to rebuild us into a contender after the 2013 Nets’ trade. Hiring Stevens before anybody else is what saved him.
Do you want to know who was on third base taking credit for hitting a triple since 2003? Hint: The guy taking way too much credit away from Mike Zarren since 2003…
Too bad there’s no Mike Zarren in Utah…
This is all a shtick, right? Like a really poor man’s LarBrd33?
In all seriousness, Zarren is still with the Celtics and Danny is an executive with the Utah Jazz. What more do we need to connect the dots on what ownership knows and what ownership chose?
Absolutely ludicrous saying Brad was born on third base and people are saying he hit a triple. Other than Zarren and the owners, nobody has done more for this organization since Red’s death than Brad Stevens. Without Stevens, there’s no Horford. Without Stevens, there’s no Udoka. Without those three, who knows how JT/JB develop?
This team belongs to the players, the owners, Stevens, Udoka, and Zarren. Danny is history. A washed-up executive with the Utah Jazz. A footnote with regards to the 2022 success. Frankly, a not so nice guy who did a lot of harm to this organization after The Big 3.
One title in nearly twenty years is the same number of titles as the Toronto Raptors, an organization with its name chosen because of the popularity of the movie Jurassic Park (1993). That achievement is legendary? Really? As many NBA Finals appearances in nearly twenty years as the Dallas Mavericks. Legendary? Really?
We are the Boston Celtics, and the true heirs to Red are these guys running the show now today. Just wait and see, folks. This is just the start.