Danny Ainge Finally Spilled The Beans On The Top Secret Brad Stevens Contract Extension

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In 2016 both Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens were given contract extensions, and at the time, Wyc Grousbeck had this to say about that decision

A major job of ownership is to find the right people to run the basketball side. We believe we have found them in Danny and Brad.

Once you find your people, you need to support them in their efforts and create a work environment that enables them and the team to succeed. If all of that is in place, the topic of extending contracts becomes an easy one, because everybody wants to keep moving forward together.

The one thing the Celts do a little differently is nobody knew how long, or for how much. They never release that shit. Then, this past August, the Celtics extended Brad Stevens again. We once again had no idea for how long, or for how much. Every time this happens we get the same line, "per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed". Even in an up and down year like this season, Wyc has gone on the radio and publicly declared that neither of these two are going anywhere.

Then you start to get the Indiana rumors, that report that they were willing to offer Brad 7/70M to come coach there, yet he still didn't budge. 

He explained why

You would think he had a pretty sweet situation in Boston to not even consider it. Well, Danny Ainge finally spilled the beans on that secret contract extension

Six more years! No wonder he didn't give a shit about that Indiana job. Now obviously things can change over the course of 6 years in the NBA, but remember, Ainge has never fired a coach that he personally has brought in. He got rid of Jim O'Brien back in the day, but he was already there when Ainge took over, and then he brought in Doc, who ultimately quit at the end because he didn't want to rebuild. Since then, it's been Brad.

If you look at some of the highest paid coaches in the league, Pop leads the pack at around $11M a year, and that is obviously well deserved. I don't think Brad is that high, but I'm sure he's somewhere close. Dwane Casey and Billy Donovan make like $6-8M per year. I bet Brad is probably somewhere around that number, which helps you understand why that huge college offer probably isn't that attractive compared to the situation he currently has. I just can't believe Ainge let the cat out of the bag after keeping it under wraps for years. 

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Now that we know the length of Brad's extensions, it tells me a few things.

1. The Jays probably actually like playing for him

Considering they are your two franchise players, my guess is they are probably consulted on things like this. You aren't going to keep a coach around long term that your two best players have tuned out or don't like playing under. That would be silly. It's clear that ownership wants to see this group through both of the Jay's current extensions. I thought that was pretty important given how the years line up. Who knows what happens at that point, but it's clear there is a plan in place for the Jays/Brad/Ainge foundation to continue for the foreseeable future. We'll see what that means for guys like Kemba/Smart moving forward.

2. It gives the Celts a backup plan

Let's say shit hits the fan and at some point in their current deals, one of the Jays wants out and is traded. Well, Brad has sort of proved that he can handle a rebuild. That he can get the most out of a rebuilding team to help them overachieve. If they were to get rid of Brad and then that trade demand still happened, they'd be kind of fucked. Look at what's going around the league with teams that recently replaced their head coach that also don't have a league MVP candidate. How are things going in IND, CHI, DET or NO? Exactly. 

Having Brad under contract for at least 6 more years gives them some insurance that even if something like that happens, they have a foundation in place that has been through a rebuild before and was pretty damn successful at it. I think that goes a long way into ownership's thinking because you NEVER know what players are going to be thinking/feeling in 2-3 years. Especially in today's NBA. To win a title or even get to a Finals ultimately comes down to top end talent and star players, but when you are in a rebuilding situation, the coach matters more. We already lived through this.

3. People can finally stop yelling on Twitter after every loss that the Celts need to "FIRE BRAD!!"

I don't know why this is still a thing, but how many more ways can the team tell you that Brad isn't going anywhere. The owner went public and declared it, they gave him an extension, and now they are letting it be known that the extension has him in town for 6 more years. You don't fire a coach with that much time left on his contract before your best players even hit their goddamn prime. 

Nobody is saying Brad is a perfect coach. Far from it. He has just as much to prove as anybody that he can actually get this team over the hump. Knocking on the door is great and all, but eventually you have to bust through. What's crazy is people actually consider him making the ECF a negative like everyone does it. Unless you have LeBron, it's most certainly not that easy. I think there is something to be said about having a franchise that is stable within the front office/coaching staff. One that doesn't overreact like Twitter does after a loss to the Bulls. 

It's clear they want to see what this core/coach can do together as those guys enter their prime, and I'm just happy we don't have to worry about this bullshit for the next half decade. Now they just need to get over the hump.