Catching Up With Wyc Grousbeck
As Danny Ainge oversees the rebuilding process for the Boston Celtics this summer, the man who will oversee Danny Ainge, Wyc Grousbeck, the Managing Partner and Governorof the Boston Celtics, took some time to answer some questions regarding the future of his team.
The Celtics formally announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches, Dave Wohl and Tony Brown to Doc Rivers’ staff. Wohl coached with Rivers in Orlando and Tony Brown, a lifelong friend of Rivers, coached last year in Miami. Wyc is very impressed with the chemistry the three guys share as a coaching unit, commenting that they are “commanding and accomplished.” Last Tuesday, they were working out high school draft prospect Al Jefferson, a 6’9” 250 pound prospect from Prentiss, Ms. In general, he was very impressed with how the college and high school kids have been “snapping to attention” as the new coaching staff runs the pre-draft workouts. Since Tony and Dave have been on board unofficially for two weeks, they have seen everybody that Danny has brought in for workouts. Doc has seen mostly film of the prospects as he is still doing color commentary for the NBA playoffs.As for the rumor mill buzzing about former Celtic Ed Pinckney joining the staff, Wyc issued a “not speculating at this time.”
In terms of the previous administration, most recently interim coach John Carroll, Wyc thought he did a “good job in tough circumstances.” He did not feel that he was over his head, and in fact, they actually negotiated an option for him to be the head coach this year had the situation worked out. This was an action that revealed they were confident in Carroll’s abilities. He did manage to help guide the team into the playoffs, which is what Wyc wanted, and rightly so. As he put it, “losing is not acceptable,” and winning “builds character.” Unfortunately for Coach Carroll, it did not work out in the end and the Celtics moved in another direction.
Since Danny Ainge is the official “wheeler and dealer” on this club, Wyc wouldn’t speculate on any potential moves. I did mention 3 names whom are legitimate number two wing players to support Paul Pierce and fill the void left by Antoine Walker’s departure: Donyell Marshall, Jamal Mashburn, and Maurice Taylor. His comments were that a) he thought the consensus in the organization were that the priority needs were a 1 and a 5 (point guard and center/power forward), versus a wing player (he felt that Jiri Welsch and Ricky Davis provided steady number two players); b) he was “not encouraged” from what he read concerning Mashburn’s health issues; c) that Coach Rivers feels their number one need is an “aggressive big- man that can make them tougher”; and that they will use their mid-level cap slot to help the team, and it will probably come from a list of “recognizable names.”The Celtics are not averse to taking a point guard, but they also feel they’re all set at the position. Doc Rivers is high on Marcus Banks (“I do look at guys like Marcus Banks as a guy who can help us become a better basketball team-today. I like his potential, he’s got a bright future.” Boston.com). And of course Doc Rivers coached Chucky Atkins in Orlando.
All of this off-season activity has already generated a buzz for the Celtics fans in Boston. Wyc said that season ticket sales are way ahead of last year’s pace, which he wished to thank the fans for that. And the team has actually kept ticket prices flat and/or lowered them to make them more attainable for fans. The draft is 3 weeks away, and then the free agency period and trade talks will begin. And with the Doc Rivers era about to begin, Wyc Grousbeck is “more excited than he’s ever been.” Let the summer of rebuilding begin.
05/31/04
The Celtics formally announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches, Dave Wohl and Tony Brown to Doc Rivers’ staff. Wohl coached with Rivers in Orlando and Tony Brown, a lifelong friend of Rivers, coached last year in Miami. Wyc is very impressed with the chemistry the three guys share as a coaching unit, commenting that they are “commanding and accomplished.” Last Tuesday, they were working out high school draft prospect Al Jefferson, a 6’9” 250 pound prospect from Prentiss, Ms. In general, he was very impressed with how the college and high school kids have been “snapping to attention” as the new coaching staff runs the pre-draft workouts. Since Tony and Dave have been on board unofficially for two weeks, they have seen everybody that Danny has brought in for workouts. Doc has seen mostly film of the prospects as he is still doing color commentary for the NBA playoffs.As for the rumor mill buzzing about former Celtic Ed Pinckney joining the staff, Wyc issued a “not speculating at this time.”
In terms of the previous administration, most recently interim coach John Carroll, Wyc thought he did a “good job in tough circumstances.” He did not feel that he was over his head, and in fact, they actually negotiated an option for him to be the head coach this year had the situation worked out. This was an action that revealed they were confident in Carroll’s abilities. He did manage to help guide the team into the playoffs, which is what Wyc wanted, and rightly so. As he put it, “losing is not acceptable,” and winning “builds character.” Unfortunately for Coach Carroll, it did not work out in the end and the Celtics moved in another direction.
Since Danny Ainge is the official “wheeler and dealer” on this club, Wyc wouldn’t speculate on any potential moves. I did mention 3 names whom are legitimate number two wing players to support Paul Pierce and fill the void left by Antoine Walker’s departure: Donyell Marshall, Jamal Mashburn, and Maurice Taylor. His comments were that a) he thought the consensus in the organization were that the priority needs were a 1 and a 5 (point guard and center/power forward), versus a wing player (he felt that Jiri Welsch and Ricky Davis provided steady number two players); b) he was “not encouraged” from what he read concerning Mashburn’s health issues; c) that Coach Rivers feels their number one need is an “aggressive big- man that can make them tougher”; and that they will use their mid-level cap slot to help the team, and it will probably come from a list of “recognizable names.”The Celtics are not averse to taking a point guard, but they also feel they’re all set at the position. Doc Rivers is high on Marcus Banks (“I do look at guys like Marcus Banks as a guy who can help us become a better basketball team-today. I like his potential, he’s got a bright future.” Boston.com). And of course Doc Rivers coached Chucky Atkins in Orlando.
All of this off-season activity has already generated a buzz for the Celtics fans in Boston. Wyc said that season ticket sales are way ahead of last year’s pace, which he wished to thank the fans for that. And the team has actually kept ticket prices flat and/or lowered them to make them more attainable for fans. The draft is 3 weeks away, and then the free agency period and trade talks will begin. And with the Doc Rivers era about to begin, Wyc Grousbeck is “more excited than he’s ever been.” Let the summer of rebuilding begin.
05/31/04
posted by New England Magazine at 9:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home