Danny Ainge holds a unique position of power on the Boston Celtics, but at the end of the day, he’s just like the rest of us.
The Celtics president of basketball operations appeared Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” and was asked about basketball’s latest head-scratcher: LaVar Ball’s decision to send his two youngest sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, to play basketball in Lithuania, of all places.
And if you’re wondering what Ball was thinking pulling LiAngelo out of UCLA and making sure LaMelo doesn’t become a Bruin, either, well, you’re in the same boat as Ainge.
“I didn’t really understand leaving UCLA,” Ainge said of the move, via CBS Boston Sports. “It’s a great program and they live right there in Los Angeles. I know (LiAngelo) got in trouble (for shoplifting in China), but Lithuania is a long ways away and it’s not really a competitive league over there.”
LiAngelo and LaMelo both signed one-year deals with the Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas, but there are reports they might not even be paid for their services.
“To send young kids over to Europe, in general, you’d say that’s a tough, tough place,” Ainge added. “But this is a much lesser of a league. I don’t know what their arrangement is, but I read they have a month buyout. So they can leave if they don’t like it after a month, or if they’re not getting enough 3-point shot attempts.
“It’s a bizarre situation, but entertaining nonetheless. It’s grabbing everyone’s attention, but it doesn’t sound like much fun for me.”
Ainge seemed pretty amused by the whole ordeal and wrapped up the discussion with a great one-liner.
“I guess the good thing is they’ll be home schooled by LaVar,” he joked.
We hope LaVar knows how to speak Lithuanian.
