Danny Ainge: ‘Too many individual goals' hindered young Celtics

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Looking back at a Celtics season that ended in a disappointing second-round playoff exit and on the eve of free agency, Danny Ainge said the team was hindered by players with too many individual goals and not enough focus on winning.

"I felt like at some point in the year, players will accept a role. We just had too many individual goals, like we didn't have enough guys that winning was the most important thing," the Celtics president of basketball operations said at the team's annual corporate partner's summit in Newport, R.I. 

Ainge didn't name individual players, but reports of dissatisfaction with roles and playing time emerged throughout the season and after the Celtics were eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks. 

"When you have 21- and 22-year-old kids, that's going to happen. I like them and I understand where every player is. I was that player. Yes, I wanted to be an All-Star and yes, I wanted more shots. I used to celebrate every time [Larry] Bird didn't play," Ainge said, relating his own experience on the great Celtics teams of the '80s. "Are you kidding? That's more shots..." 

Watch the attached video for his complete comments.

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