Jae Crowder took a shot at his own fans Tuesday, which isn’t the best look. But his bosses aren’t interested in making a mountain out of a molehill.
The Boston Celtics forward caused a stir after Tuesday’s win over the Utah Jazz by ripping TD Garden fans for cheering Jazz star Gordon Hayward, then later tweeting, among other things, he’d have “no problem” leaving Boston.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn’t losing sleep over Crowder’s outburst, though.
“That’s not the best response,” Ainge said with a laugh Thursday during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, via MassLive.com. “That’s not what we talk about in public relations training, but Jae knows it. And I’m not worried about it.”
In fact, Ainge sees a silver lining in the whole incident, considering Crowder went off for 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the Celtics’ 115-104 victory.
“If I can get the crowd to cheer the starting small forwards every game, Jae would play his best. I like that,” Ainge joked. “Whatever it takes to get him motivated to play, I’m OK with. But I agree with (head coach Brad Stevens). I’m not worried about Jae Crowder at all.”
Stevens admitted he was “surprised” by Crowder’s comments but defended his player by noting how much the 26-year-old has embraced playing in Boston. Ainge struck a similar chord.
“He’s a true pro,” Ainge said of Crowder. “He loves being a Celtic. He’s grateful for being here. He loves his teammates. His teammates love him. And I don’t really put much into it because it’s Jae, and what he does day in and day out is much more than a tantrum on Twitter.”
That said, Ainge would prefer Crowder to lay off the Twitter machine for a bit.
“I don’t like it when our players use Twitter to go back and forth with fans, the media or just trolls out there,” he added. “To get caught up in that doesn’t make sense.”
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
