Life has slowed down for Danny Ainge, in a good way.
Since stepping down from his role as president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, with Brad Stevens stepping up as his successor, Ainge has been playing a lot of golf, traveling and enjoying his family.
But with around 40 years of NBA experience, he isn’t ready to definitively walk away from the game. Living in Utah allows him to watch a lot of basketball without staying up too late, but based on his conversation with NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, Ainge admitted he’d answer the phone for the right position.
“I’m not closing the book on other opportunities, but, you know, they’d have to be the right situation,” Ainge said Wednesday.
“I’d have to be working with the right people in the right role and I don’t want to get back into 18-hour days. I don’t think that’s in anybody’s best interest for that matter but I know how much work it takes to be good at the job. At the same time, I have 40 years of experience in the NBA and I think I have a lot to offer. Some team that might see that, me as a helper to people in the organization. But yeah, just depending on what the role is.”
It’s hard to blame him for not wanting to take back on that much responsibility. Being the general manager of a team is a lot of work. Maybe if Stevens weren’t doing a good job in his promotion, Ainge might feel more inclined to come back.
But last season brought on a lot of headaches, and Ainge seems content with his decision.
We’ll see if that changes for the Portland Trail Blazers who have an opening.
