Jackie Mac On Likely New Celtics President Danny Ainge

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Adios three-point madness and Toine......

Ainge offered head of basketball operations job for the Celtics
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Staff, 5/7/2003


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Former Celtics guard Danny Ainge has been
offered the job of head of basketball operations for the Celtics,
according to team sources.

The new Celtics ownership group, headed by Wyc Grousbeck and Steve
Pagliuca, met with Ainge on "at least two occasions" and were impressed
with his frankness, knowledge of the game, and ideas about how a team
should be run, according to one of the sources. Ainge has not yet given
the Celtics an answer, the other source said, but is seriously
considering their offer.

If Ainge, 44, says yes, it would not spell the end of general manager
Chris Wallace's tenure in Boston. Wallace, who was signed to a
three-year extension by owner Paul Gaston in one of his final acts
before he sold the club last September, would be retained in a
diminished role, according to the sources.

Reached last night at the Meadowlands, where he was broadcasting Game 2
of the Celtics-New Jersey Nets series for TNT, Ainge said, "I know Steve
Pagliuca. I have had conversations with him, but I can't tell you what
those conversations were about." Grousbeck, who serves as the spokesman
for the ownership group and was here for the game, declined comment.

Ainge has never made a secret that his long-term goal was to run a team.
He coached the Phoenix Suns from 1996-99, posting a record of 136-90. In
subsequent years, he was approached by other teams about coaching
opportunities but declined. He has said one of the few jobs that would
lure him out of the broadcast booth would be an NBA front-office spot.
The new Celtics ownership has spent time reaching out to alumni since it
officially gained control of the team Dec. 31. In a recent interview,
Grousbeck stressed, "The tradition of this great franchise is something
we value, and something we'd like to uphold. Part of that is having
great players from the past involved with our team."

Ainge was one of the first of those former players Grousbeck and
Pagliuca contacted and from whom they solicited advice. Team sources
also said the new owners have had conversations with Hall of Famer Kevin
McHale, who runs the Minnesota Timberwolves, and former Celtics great
Dave Cowens, who was fired as head coach of the Golden State Warriors
last year. But when it came time to tender an offer to run their
basketball operations, their top choice was Ainge.

If Ainge does accept the job, he will have to uproot his family, which
includes three children still in school. He also has a granddaughter who
lives in the Phoenix area. Concerns about spending enough time with his
family played a large part in his resignation as coach of the Suns.

Ainge played for the Celtics from 1981-89 and was one of the most
popular players on the team, both with the fans and his teammates. He
was noted for his intelligent analysis of the game and his unfailing
penchant for candor. In February 1989, Ainge and Brad Lohaus were traded
to the Sacramento Kings for Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney. Ainge later
played for the Portland Trail Blazers but finished his career in a
Phoenix uniform.