Ainge: Despite C's troubles, Rivers' job is very safe

EXCUSE ME MR. AINGE....BUT WHAT THE HELL DOES MAKING A STATEMENT LIKE THAT MEAN! PERHAPS YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR OWN STATUS....AND SEE HOW SOLID YOUR FOOTING IS IN THE EYES OF OWNERSHIP............PERHAPS QUICKSAND IS GROWING UNDER YOUR SNEAKERS!

112288


CSNE

A SHRROD BLAKELY

LOS ANGELES — Not even a month into the NBA season and the Los Angeles Lakers kicked Mike Brown - a former NBA coach of the Year in 2009 with a winning percentage better than 65 percent - to the curb.

Avery Johnson, who was the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for October and November, was fired by the Brooklyn Nets.

Both were fired for, among other things, underperforming.

About a third of the season has been completed, and it's clear that the Celtics (14-14) fall into that category.

But don't look for the C's to make any kind of radical changes anytime soon.

"Doc (Rivers) has proven his worth as a coach," Danny Ainge, Boston's President of Basketball Operations, told CSNNE.com. "There's nobody I want more to coach my team, than Doc Rivers."

Like most NBA observers, Ainge is well aware of the quick-to-hire, quick-to-fire mentality that has pervaded many NBA franchises in recent years.

"First of all, every situation is different," Ainge said. "There's so much information that no one knows, and really information that never gets public and a lot of misinformation that does get public depending on who is giving the information or which side is telling the story. I don't think anyone gives up on coaches this fast without there being a feeling that there's not a long term solution or they're just not compatible; coaching staff with owners and management. It's a very hard dynamic, the world of professional sports.

Ainge added, "One thing I've learned in this business is patience is a virtue. That's one of the reasons why I love Doc. Because when things aren't going well, there's no one I want in my corner more. Anybody can put on a smiley face and come to work with energy and enthusiasm and passion when you're winning. But it takes a special person to do it with an 18, 19-game losing streak with a bunch of young players and to still have that respect and work ethic before we were able to put a great team together and obviously, have some success."

Still, that doesn't fully soothe the pain that many in Celtics Nation are feeling right now when they see a team that was built to compete for one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference.

So far this season, the Celtics look more like a team trying to fight their way into the playoffs.

Ainge will be the first to acknowledge that the C's aren't performing nearly as well as he or anyone within the organization expected.

And while it has taken longer for this team to get on the same page than he would have liked, by no means have the C's struggles been solely the fault of Rivers.

"When the team isn't winning, that's just as much my fault as it is Doc's fault," Ainge said. "We're in this together, with the success and the failure of the team. A lot of times, players aren't doing their part. Sometimes it's the coaches not doing their part. Sometimes it's me not doing my part, and my staff. We have to evaluate all of it and find the real reasons why the team isn't performing to our standards and try to make the best of it."

Rivers speaks candidly about where the Celtics are right now, showing no signs of wavering on his belief that this team will eventually start stringing together wins and eventually develop into the kind of team that can at least compete with the elite teams in the East.

"The NBA is a league of ebbs and flows," Rivers said. "That's just the way it is. You go on good streaks, you go on bad ones and you hope you right the ship and go back on a good one."

And when that turn-around does come about, it won't necessarily be the work of one or two men, either.

"To have unity at ownership level, at management level and coaching level is critical when you're trying to build winning teams," Ainge said. "I like what we have. But sometimes at some places, it's just not there. I just think that these things (head coaches getting fired quickly) happen in sports, and they always will."

112288

I don't think Doc is going anywhere, and he shouldn't. I just always hate it when a GM or owner has to say a coach's job is safe because they usually turn around and fire him within the next week or two.

Ny,

To even have Ainge utter a statement like that, in lieu of Johnson getting fired is ridiculous. Has any other GM issued the same statement about their coach.

That in my mind is disrespect towards Doc!

112288

Let's calm down here!! I think that Danny did not disrespect Doc, he just let the rest of the world know how much management loves Doc Rivers and trusts him. Just a short time ago everyone was claiming that Danny had put together a good team. Okay, things haven't quite gone the way they thought they would, but I think we have to let things play out.

Rosalie

Rosalie,

I'm Calm...I'm calm! But my point is .......Johnson did not win a championship although he did go to the finals....but he has no titles.

Doc labored through some tough years with players given to him by Ainge. It was Ainges lousy teams....not Doc's. Finally when Ainge got some.......hmmmm........True Grit......and got Doc some players did Doc shine and..........win a championship.

If I was asked that question..........I would decline to answer it citing it to be a ridicules question not worthy of an answer.

My question is ......was Ainge asked that question or did Ainge just come out with the statement? Inquiring minds want to know!

112288

It's funny, my husband agrees with you. He feels that it was an insult to Doc, that it should have been better left unsaid. I think that you are being really hard on Ainge. Remember, he was the one who gathered those players together making it able to trade for KG. I feel he has had his ups and downs with the draft, there is no doubt there. But, there are alot of upside to his management skill. Remember, even Red made some lousy calls, especially in his later years (Joseph Forte????). I have not been happy with some of the moves Ainge has made i.e. Vin Baker, Shaq, Jermaine O'Neil, etc. But they were all attempts to maybe get something out of a former "key" player.

We have had some really great players on their last legs. Walton, for one, Tiny Archibald, Maravich, Dave Bing....the list goes on and on.

But, back to the question at hand, WHY DID DANNY MAKE THAT STATEMENT?
Are there rumblings that someone wants to come after Doc for their team??
I know he is under contract, but, what would happen if New Orleans came after him and he wanted to coach his son. Would management say NO????

Crazy, I know, but the world is nuts out there. I think he was just giving Doc a big vote of confidence, that's all.

Rosalie,

Like your husband already!

Moving on........

THAT IS A VERY ASTUTE OBSERVATION AND A GREAT QUESTION YOU ARE POSING!

Would they allow Doc to leave. He has a 4 year $40M contract so something north of that number would have to be offered. If so would the Celtics go after Tommy T in Chicago?

112288

Doc and DA wont leave the Celtics until they choose to leave.

The problem is NOT with the coaching, the plays, the schemes or anything of the like. The problem is that the players are not meeting expectations AND they may need to add a big man to fill things out.

The Nets quit on Avery Johnson and publicly complained about his plays etc. The Celtics may not be playing consistently well, but they never quit.

MrK,

ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON!

The team has not quit...they are just not executing or they are unable to execute what Doc is asking of them.

I would like to see a little house cleaning beyond a big.

112288

Oh lordy, it must be a slow news day in the NBA!

Did anyone on this board hear Ainge make those remarks? No? Well then, I assume no one on this board heard what question(s) from the media may have prompted the response.

If anyone serious thinks that Danny Ainge is running around and making spontaneous, controversial comments, think again! Members of the media have all sorts of tricks, including asking provocative questions and reporting only the answers—not the questions that provoked the answers.

If Danny was guilty of anything, it was very likely being too cooperative in responding candidly to the media. Does anyone seriously believe that Danny (in the midst of a road trip, deeply involved in his Celtics duties (perhaps even including conversations with other teams about trades, and being genuinely concerned about the course of the team) suddenly decided to show up at the doorstep of CSNNE (thousands of miles away) and volunteer random comments such as, "When the team isn't winning, that's just as much my fault as it is Doc's fault?" without some provocation on the part of CSNNE." That's just as ridiculous as trusting members of the media to be completely objective in their questions instead of mining for the controversial stuff.

I can just hear some of the strategically concocted media questions that could have provoked Danny's comments:

• Danny, where do you place the blame for the Celtics' poor showing?

And, if that one doesn't generate sufficiently controversial, quotable answers:

• In light of developments such as Avery Johnson's firing, have you considered that the team might benefit from having some new blood involved in coaching the team?

And, if that one doesn't generate sufficiently controversial, quotable answers:

• How safe is Doc's job?

And, if that one doesn't generate sufficiently controversial, quotable answers:

• So do you completely rule out the possibility of replacing Doc Rivers?

It's interesting to read media stories on sports. But one reason I usually stick to posting occasional articles describing matters of fact or observation (e.g. how a practice went or how an injury is healing) rather than involving a lot of opinion-type quotes (which can be manipulated) is that it's ill-advised to take opinion quotes at face value without considering the context within which the quotes may be gathered and reported by the media.

Sam

My observation was really hypothetical to express just exactly what you are pointing out Sam. This is so crazy to even be talking about I don't know why I bit, other than aggrivation. And I feel the same way about Danny Ainge, unless he decides to move on, he is going no where too. Thanks for giving us a voice of reason here!!!

Rosalie

Sam,

You are slipping. It came from an interview from CSNE - A SHRROD BLAKELY who covers the Celtics and is sometimes an on court reporter, so yes it is news worth discussing. I also do not hold Ainge up as God's gift to the world of general managers of basketball.

112288

112288,

So let me get this straight. It's "slipping'" for me to suggest that it's important to consider the context within which Ainge made the statements—right?

I'm well aware of who Blakely is. I don't really need a tutorial on the fact that he covers the Celtics to realize that he's just as capable as other reporters of asking pointed questions that are designed to produce potentially provocative answers.

Nor does the fact that you're not a big Ainge fan have anything to do with my assertion. Basically, what that comment suggests is that your dislike for Danny is justification for your disregarding my suggestion that people use a little more objectivity in interpreting Danny's remarks. Is that admitted bias supposed to lend credence to your viewpoint? NOT!

Did you hear the interview? If so, perhaps you could enlighten us as to the wording of the questions that were asked. Unlike your most recent post, that would be germane to this discussion.

I'm sorry you feel I'm "slipping." I'll let our most recent exchanges speak for themselves as to where "slippage" might be occurring.

Happy New Year,

Sam

Sam,

First of all the word I used "slipping" in the context of my sentence was "tongue in cheek" ........'cause that was what Sam Jones nick name was....wasn't it...Slippery Sam? And you do go by the board name Sam, as in Sam Jones with a picture of him. So do not take it as a personal slight.........I was just having fun with some words.

Second I think you do know who Blakley is.

Third, I would never get into a hypothetical conversation or an intellectual discussion with any reporter. Their job is to twist.........and create hype to as to draw attention. So my comments or frustration at Danny was that he took the bait rather then passing on the subject.

Have a great New Year to you and Mrs. Sam....God Bless!

112288

they would love to know that this one statement has caused so much conversation on a Celtic board!! You are right, their job is to twist and turn and make everyone quote THEM, large ego's that they have.

I am sure Sam knew you were just fooling around!! Now if you said the same about ME I would probably have to agree, I can't remember what I did yesterday (or even an hour ago!)

A MOST HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS. YOU ALL KEEP ME YOUNG!!

Rosalie

Rosalie and all board memeber's,

HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR & GOD BLESS ALL & KEEP EVERYONE SAFE!

112288

Good to see Ainge supporting Doc.

dboss