Fans of the Boston Celtics might be second-guessing the decision to elevate current Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla from his interim head coach status earlier this season after a recent skid, but not his former boss Danny Ainge, now team president of the Utah Jazz. “As a coach, you never get it right,” Ainge explained in a recent interview with The Athletic’s Jay King.
“It’s just like as a player,” he suggested, alluding to some recent missteps by the West Virginia alum. “You’re going to make a mistake, multiple mistakes in the same game, mistakes that you think may even cost your team a win here and there.”
“I just always liked Joe’s work ethic, his focus, his intelligence,” said Ainge. “I feel like Joe is one of those guys — one way that I’ve always measured greatness is how much a person can learn from mistakes they make.”
The Boston Celtics are looking at the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for their 2022-23 slate of regular season games. https://t.co/k9G4qAcJIo
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) March 20, 2023
“Joe’s going to learn from his mistakes, just like Will Hardy learns from his mistakes quickly. … The coaches that learn and move on, they become the legendary coaches. And I think both Joe and Will have a chance to be those.”
The former Celtics president also admitted he still roots for his former team. “I root hard for the Celtics,” related Ainge, who still has strong ties to the team he left for a less taxing role with the Jazz.
Presumably not when they are playing Utah, anyway.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
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