The Adam Jones Show: Rich Gotham Confident Celtics Can Build From The Middle
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics are back in the postseason, set to begin their first-round playoff matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
A first-round meeting with the Cavaliers doesn't bode well for the Celtics, but the organization is happy that they're back in the playoffs after just a one-year absence.
"I would say we're not the least bit conflicted about it," Celtics president Rich Gotham told 98.5 The Sports Hub's The Adam Jones Show on Friday night. "It's exciting and what we all worked for. You want to win, and you can't win a championship if you're not in the playoffs. While we have a tough draw, it's a good step in our progression along the way. We're all excited for the opportunity to take a whack at Cleveland."
Danny Ainge looked less than enthused when the Celtics pulled off a big win against the Toronto Raptors on a big shot by Jae Crowder last week, though the C's president of basketball ops explained that was only because Toronto still had a chance to tie it with 0.8 seconds left. Gotham said Ainge is happy with making the postseason, glad that his team is being rewarded for their regular season success.
"I think he's really happy for the team and the coaching staff to get rewarded for all the hard work they've put in this year. Danny is ultra-competitive and he wants to win as bad as everyone," said Gotham. "We're trying to build a team each and every year. We had a tough year last year but we gutted through it. It was tough on the organization, but now we're back where we ought to be. I think Danny is like the rest of us; he's happy with the success this group has achieved."
A lower seed in the playoffs isn't always the best thing for a rebuilding team, but the team feels they have set themselves up to achieve even without a high lottery pick this offseason. Boston is hoping to follow the "Build From The Middle" mold, much like the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors have done over the last few years, and Gotham is confident they have the pieces and assets in place to do so.
"You have to set yourself up for success. You don't want to pin it all on any one way of doing things," he said. "We don't want to have to say, 'We have to win the lottery,' or, 'We have to make a blockbuster trade,' or, 'We're just stuck developing young players, and that will take 5-7 years.' You really need as many options as you can have available to you to improve your team, and I think we've put ourselves in a position to do that.
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"We have 10 first round draft picks over the next four seasons; we don't need this year's picks to hit. It would be nice if one of those did, but that's not a dependency. We have enough cap space to go out and improve the team by signing quality players, and we'll maintain that cap space if the guys we like aren't available. And at the same time, we have a young core of guys we are developing along the way, and Brad [Stevens] is building a nice culture of winning," explained Gotham. "All those things are going to help us build from where we are. Do I think you can build through the middle? Absolutely. But you have to set yourself up to do that, and I feel like we have."
At the beginning of the year, before Boston traded Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, Gotham thought they could have made the playoffs as a six, seven or eight seed. Once the two were traded away he wasn't as confident, but then saw the team really come together down the stretch. Gotham attributed the trade deadline acquisition of Isaiah Thomas as a major part of Boston's success to close the regular season, giving the Celtics a player who could both stretch the floor and put up points against even some of the league's toughest defenses.
But none of this would have happened without Brad Stevens, who Gotham said Ainge knew he wanted as the next Celtics head coach even before Doc Rivers left for Los Angeles.
"I had a conversation with Danny two years prior about what if we didn't resign Doc. One of the hardest part of our business is projected which coaches will be successful; it's even harder than predicting players. He said he didn't really have a list but for one guy he liked, and it was Brad Stevens. That was two years prior to him making the move. So when Doc said he didn't want to be part of the rebuild, and Danny has to think about what coaches were on his shortlist, I think it was just a list of one: Brad [Stevens].
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"Danny recognized and saw something in Brad that he could translate his success from the college to the pro level, and so far so good," said Gotham, who said it didn't take much convincing to hire Stevens. "I think when you meet Brad, you're impressed with his focus and his sincerity. He has all the qualities of a successful person, no matter what his job be. He has those leadership traits, and those are obvious when you meet him and talk him.
"It didn't take [much convincing]. I think we quickly went from, 'Can a college guy make it to the pros,' to, 'If this guy can make it, we'd be really lucky to get him.' Part of that assessment was he's not the typical college coach system who says, 'I'm the star of the show and this is how I do it.' Brad does a really good job at assessing what he has to work with and making that work. It takes a certain selflessness to do that."
Listen to the full interview below:
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