Brad Stevens Will Reportedly Move Into The Celtics Front Office As Danny Ainge Steps Down

The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2021 NBA Playoffs on Tuesday evening, losing Game 5 to the Brooklyn Nets. Given the talent disparity in the series, it was anything but a surprise that Boston fell short in the matchup but, in the hours following the loss, reporting emerged that will change the shape of the franchise for 2021-22 and beyond.

First, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday morning that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was “seriously considering his future with the franchise.”

Less than an hour later, an already enormous story took on an even larger spotlight when Wojnarowski noted that Ainge would, in fact, be stepping down and that it would be current Celtics head coach Brad Stevens leaving the bench to replace him in the front office.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that Celtics players were informed on Tuesday on the potential for the shake-up.

Finally, Wojnarowski reported that Ainge was actually considering the move in consultation with ownership, with all parties settling on Stevens as the successor to lead the organization’s front office.

The fallout from these moves is wide-ranging, not only with Ainge leaving the team he has captained for nearly two decades but also with Stevens’ future and decisions with regard to the head coaching position. Stevens famously arrived in Boston from the college ranks, where he led Butler to great success. With that said, he does not have a front office background in NBA circles and, with his decision to vacate the bench, Boston now has a high-profile opening to replace him. As Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday, Stevens is “worn down” by coaching in recent years and is eager to replace Ainge in the organization.

This story is certainly in its infant stages, with the Celtics boasting an intriguing roster led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that would undoubtedly be appealing to many coaching candidates. Still, Boston’s future will look much different than its recent past, and additional light could be shed on the changes with Ainge and Stevens scheduled to conduct interviews on Wednesday.