BOSTON — Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said his role with the team will not change in the aftermath of his second heart attack last month.
Ainge, meeting Wednesday with reporters for the first time since being stricken in Milwaukee during Boston’s postseason run, kept a sense of humor about another health scare but was firm in his declaration that he would remain in charge of basketball operations.
"I’m eating more plants — and not the kind of plants in [Bill] Walton’s garden, by the way,” Ainge quipped.
"But I have a great bench here, too. We have a great staff in [assistant general manager] Mike [Zarren], [director of player personnel] Austin [Ainge] and [director of scouting] Dave [Lewin], right on down the list. [Maine Red Claws general manager] Remy [Cofield] and [basketball operations assistant] Jake [Eastman] and everybody that’s very capable of filling in when I needed to step away there for a little while. But I haven’t had to miss much work.”
When asked directly about his role moving forward, Ainge was succinct.
"My role is not going to change,” he said.
Ainge admitted, however, his diet has changed.
"I just need to eat better and exercise more and get skinnier,” said Ainge. "All those things.”
Ainge was touched by the outpouring of support and said it was easy to step away knowing the team was in good hands with his tight-knit staff.
“Listen, we’re all replaceable. We all know that,” said Ainge. "I tell the players that all the time. But I’ve been making those changes. I know our organization is in great hands with Mike and Austin and Dave. We have a great chemistry. We’ve been together for a long time. Those guys are capable of doing everything.
"(As a) matter of fact, they’ve organized most of all the draft workouts. We’re going to have close to 100 people in before the draft and they’ve done a great job organizing all that and just everything moves right along.”
Ainge said doctors advised him in the immediate aftermath of the heart attack -- his second in the past decade -- to avoid stressful situations. Which meant he couldn’t watch Celtics-Bucks playoffs games live.
"I recorded [Game 2], but I was like, ‘That’s more stressful.’ So I watched [Game 3],” said Ainge. "The first game I didn’t watch because I was under more stress then. So, I enjoyed watching the games and I just got to be in a setting where I’m not screaming and yelling and my veins aren’t sticking out all over my neck.”
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