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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
"That's when I resigned from the Celtics. I have never looked back' - Larry Bird on why he cut off ties to the Boston Celtics
"That's when I resigned from the Celtics. I have never looked back' - Larry Bird on why he cut off ties to the Boston Celtics originally appeared on Basketball Network. Larry Bird wishes that his years in the Boston Celtics front office would be forgotten. For someone who had given every piece of himself to the franchise, from rookie phenom to three-time NBA champion and league MVP, it seemed natural that retirement would lead him back to the only basketball home he ever knew. There was no hesitation when he accepted a front office role with the Celtics. In his eyes, it was an extension of his loyalty to the team that shaped his career and legacy. Leaving the Celtics Bird lasted only five years in the front office and left when he felt that his opinions and views in the front office weren't valued or even heard. He didn't plan on returning to Boston. "That's when I resigned from the Celtics. I have never looked back … It's too bad my time with the Celtics ended that way," Bird said. "I had some great years in Boston, and I still love it out there. I'd love to go back someday, but things have changed, and that whole organization is completely different than it was. There's nothing for me there now." In 1992, Bird officially retired from playing, and just two years later, in 1994, he joined the Celtics front office, working alongside then-owner Paul Gaston. He was named special assistant to the Celtics' senior management, a title that sounded important but came with the foggy reality of limited authority. He had spent his career speaking with his game, leading by example and expecting mutual respect. In the front office, that clarity disappeared. What seemed to be collaborative decision-making on paper was, in Bird's experience, something very different behind closed doors. Several decisions and circumstances left him disillusioned. During his time, the Celtics went through a turbulent period. The team struggled on the court, and ideas clashed in the front office. Bird, whose basketball instincts had never failed him, was routinely sidelined in discussions, and his input began to carry less and less weight. He was brought in to offer guidance, but found himself in a position where his name was on the door, yet his influence was lost friendship Adding to that frustration was the situation surrounding the head coaching position. The team had fallen into a rough patch under M.L. Carr, and ownership began floating the idea of finding new leadership. Bird was asked to be part of the process of scouting for replacements and in his mind, Carr had already been made aware of the plan. But that assumption turned out to be wrong — and costly. "It's disappointing that so many relationships I had with people fell apart," Bird said. "But I would feel a lot worse about it if I thought I had done something wrong. I'm not wrong. I'm sorry M.L. didn't like it that he lost the coaching job, but it wasn't my decision. And I never would have purposely kept it from him about looking for a new coach. I thought he knew." "And I feel bad that Dennis Johnson was frustrated," he continued. "He, like everyone else, probably thinks I should just stop everything and tell the Pacers to hire him, but I can't do that. I don't believe that should end our friendship." Carr had been an energetic, defensive-minded former teammate and Bird had always shared mutual respect with him. But the narrative became complicated when it emerged that the coaching change had been orchestrated behind Carr's back. Even if Bird had acted with good intentions, believing his former teammate had been informed, the damage was already done. In Carr's eyes, it was betrayal. On another front, Dennis Johnson, who was then an assistant coach and another Celtics great, had expected to be part of the conversation about the head coaching role. Bird, who was involved in listing potential candidates, did not include Johnson and also did not include him on the shortlist for an assistant coaching position with the Indiana Pacers. It created a sense of being overlooked, and Johnson's disappointment extended to their personal relationship. Bird would later find the professional respect he sought when he joined the Pacers in 1997 as head coach, winning Coach of the Year in his first season and leading the team to the NBA Finals in 2000. Unlike his Celtics front office experience, his time in Indiana allowed him to call the shots, earn respect on merit and work in an environment that trusted his story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"The truth was, I had very little input" - Bird says the Celtics denied him superstar power within the organization
Larry Bird doesn't look back at his Boston Celtics front office stint with a sense of pride. If anything, it was an unforgettable experience, though not in the way legends usually want to be remembered. His time in the C's ivory tower felt more like a PR move than a proper strategic role. The basketball icon who once defined the team's golden era found himself barred from making the decisions that could have shaped the franchise after retirement. Bird sidelined When Paul Gaston brought Larry into the Celtics' front office in the early '90s, it was seen as a sentimental play. Advertisement After all, this was a Boston legend, a three-time MVP, three-time NBA champion, and the guy who embodied Boston basketball. Gaston had done what any owner trying to regain favor with a restless fan base might do — tap into nostalgia and install a hero in the house. "Gaston always told me I could have any job I wanted in the organization, but the truth was, I had very little input," Bird said. "I think Gaston had trouble looking at me as anything except a former superstar, like some kind of figurehead." "In a way, I can understand that, because the first couple of years after I retired, I wasn't around much. But whenever I did come to town, everyone wanted to know what I thought about this player or that player," he continued. At the time, Bird was still revered across Boston. That reverence didn't seem to translate into real decision-making power, though. Advertisement His suggestions on roster moves and coaching hires were routinely ignored. Larry didn't want Sherman Douglas traded, yet Douglas was shipped out. He strongly advised against signing aging All-Star Dominique Wilkins, but Boston brought him in anyway. Bird had also pushed for Larry Brown as head coach, but the C's looked elsewhere, hiring Rick Pitino. There were a lot of differences of opinion and the beginning of a growing disconnect between "The Hick from French Lick" and the power structure he was supposed to be a part of. The team's decision-makers didn't seem to treat his input as strategy — they treated it like fan service. And that dissonance built up, season after season. Even the way players interacted with Bird suggested a lack of clarity in his role. Some saw him as an executive, others as a ceremonial presence. It blurred lines in the locker room and didn't help a franchise already struggling to find its identity after the retirement of its "Big 3" core. Advertisement Related: Scottie Pippen admits he is astounded by how Nikola Jokic plays the game of basketball: "That guy is the best player in basketball" Leaving Boston The years that followed the Celtics' 1980s dynasty weren't kind. The franchise stumbled into mediocrity in the '90s, failing to make it out of the first round of the playoffs for seven straight seasons between 1992 and 1999. Boston's once-feared brand of basketball was now marked by inconsistency and low expectations. And through all of that, Bird remained emotionally tethered to the team. "There's no question I had achieved a level of respect in Boston," he said. "But I spent a lot of years earning that respect. I think it was hard for Gaston to have me around sometimes, because it seemed as if no matter what he did, he took a beating in the press, while in their eyes, I could do no wrong." Advertisement That kind of imbalance didn't sit well with a team owner who navigated both on-court struggles and off-court criticism. Bird, meanwhile, became a symbol of what Boston used to be — and perhaps a reminder of what it had failed to build upon. The fanbase, media, and even rival executives continued associating the Celtics brand with Larry's legacy. Yet inside the organization, his presence created more tension than traction. In 1997, after five years of fighting for a seat at the actual decision-making table, Bird walked away and returned to the Indiana Pacers — this time to take the reins of a Pacers franchise that would, under his leadership, reach the NBA Finals in 2000. Related: "It's disappointing that so many relationships I had with people fell apart" - Bird on why he won't ever consider a front office role with the Celtics
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Once I gave the Celtics my list of coaches, I was frozen out" - Larry Bird admits frustration over not getting the coach he wanted in Boston
In the summer of 1997, the Boston Celtics found themselves at another crucial juncture. The franchise was still drifting in the post-Larry Bird era, buried in the rubble of the M.L. Carr years and desperate for a figure who could command respect and orchestrate a rebuild. Team owner Paul Gaston approached Bird, who had long retired as a player but remained a living symbol of Celtics pride, and informed him that the team was ready to move on from Carr as head coach. The legendary forward was asked to compile a list of candidates he believed could restore the C's to relevance. Bird frozen out Among the names Bird believed in, one stood above the rest: Larry Brown. Advertisement At that point, Brown was wrapping up a tenure with the Indiana Pacers, a team he had built into an Eastern Conference contender. He had a reputation for discipline, defensive fundamentals and a knack for getting the most out of role players — exactly the traits Boston needed after years of sliding into irrelevance. "If Larry Brown ended up as the Celtics coach, there was no doubt in my mind he'd get them back on track," Bird said. "He seemed as if he was the front-runner, but I was guessing. Once I gave the Celtics my list of coaches, I was frozen out. The Celtics weren't telling me anything." It wasn't just a gut feeling. Brown had transformed teams before — he'd taken the Los Angeles Clippers to the playoffs, won with the San Antonio Spurs and made the Pacers respectable. Bird had seen the results firsthand. With the Celtics mired in mediocrity, Brown's disciplined style and proven résumé made him a rare, qualified lifeline. Larry agreed to interview with Boston. Afterward, he called Larry, sounding upbeat. Before long, "Larry Legend" stopped hearing from anyone inside the Celtics organization. There was no follow-up from Gaston, no update from the front office. Brown, puzzled and still hopeful, called again — but Bird had no answers. There was a growing sense that the process had gone dark. Suddenly, Pitino was back in the conversation. Advertisement Related: "They think he was a chubby White guy" - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thinks people don't appreciate Larry Bird enough Poor decisions Bird, once central to the planning of the new head coach, had been cast to the sidelines. One minute, everything was in place and the next it came crashing down. "Brown interviewed with the Celtics and called me afterward. He sounded excited," Bird recalled. "He told me, 'I think I've got the job.' He said Gaston told him he needed just a couple of more days and he'd get back to him with the details. I congratulated him and wished him luck. Next thing you know — boom, Larry Brown is not the next coach of the Celtics." Advertisement Brown never received an official explanation. The same man who'd believed he had the job was now left in the lurch. Not long after, the Philadelphia 76ers — equally desperate for a culture shift — swooped in and hired him. That summer, Bird was left with a bitter taste. The Celtics had slipped further away from what he believed they could become, and he carried guilt about how things had ended for Brown. The Celtics, meanwhile, turned to Pitino, who finally agreed to take over in a high-profile deal that made him both president and head coach. It was a power move on Gaston's part, but it came at the expense of stability. Rick's tenure in Boston would last just three and a half seasons and include only one playoff appearance. By the time he left in 2001, the Celtics were no better off than when they started — if anything, they were in a deeper hole — with a 102–146 record under his watch. Bird, on the other hand, moved on to coach the Pacers and, in a twist of fate, led them to an NBA Finals appearance in 2000. Advertisement His vision for building a contender had not been misguided. It had just been ignored in Boston. Related: "The truth was, I had very little input" - Bird says the Celtics denied him superstar power within the organization
