Celtics president of basketball ops Danny Ainge blames himself—not Kyrie Irving, not entirely anyway—for a hugely disappointing 2018-19 season.
“We should have cleaned out the roster a little bit,” says Ainge, adding that the roster he constructed “didn’t mesh.”
Boston is currently tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 12-4.
Per ESPN:
“I think that in hindsight, we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for [coach] Brad [Stevens], more joy for him to coach,” Ainge said.
Ultimately, Ainge said he refrained from trading any players last season because, after an uneven start, the team entered the All-Star break 37-21.
“So that’s why I didn’t do any deals, but in hindsight, you know, I would,” Ainge told ESPN. Going forward, Ainge said he would be “a little bit more careful … building another team that had such equal depth.”
While some have attempted to cast blame on Irving for the failings of last season’s Celtics, Ainge continues to say he views that as unfair.
“I think it’s silly that Kyrie is targeted as the guy just because he’s not with us this year,” said Ainge, who thinks he was also part of the problem. “I’ll blame all the players and I’ll blame myself, and we’ll go from there.”
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