History of the Boston Celtics
With public support strongly behind Auerbach, Brown elected to sell the team rather than face the wrath of the city for being the man who drove Red to a hated rival.
Carr, Archibald, Henderson and Ford would form a highly competent backcourt, with their unique skills blending in perfectly with the talented frontcourt of Cowens, Maxwell and Bird, who would go on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
Archibald was replaced when popular reserve forward Rick Robey, a close friend of Bird, was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for point guard Dennis Johnson, a former Finals MVP himself.
With Johnson starting alongside ex-CBA player Gerald Henderson, and former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Danny Ainge, veterans Quinn Buckner and M.L.
McHale, Parish and Ainge were also fighting injuries, forcing reserves Darren Daye and Fred Roberts to play larger roles in the series, which the Celtics lost 4 games to 2.
Under Ford's leadership, the Celtics improved to 56–26 in 1990–91, recapturing the Atlantic Division title even though Bird missed 22 games with a variety of injuries and Parish and McHale's skills had begun to decline.
After thirteen seasons with the club and winning a gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics with the Dream Team, Bird retired in 1992 primarily due to his back injuries.
Carr stepped aside to another job in the organization when the Celtics convinced Rick Pitino to join the franchise as the team's president, front office manager, and head coach.
Pitino had led the University of Kentucky to an NCAA Championship and was a very successful head coach at the college level, with a short NBA stint with the New York Knicks several years prior.
Much of the young team that lost 67 games the year before was dismantled: David Wesley and Rick Fox were let go, and Williams was traded to the Denver Nuggets for a pair of second round draft picks.
[37] The team still had a promising start, upsetting the defending champions Chicago Bulls at home on opening night,[38] and hard play from the youngsters that led to leaderships in turnovers and steals, improving its victories from 15 to 36 despite many losing streaks.
Gone were Rodney Rogers, who signed with new rival New Jersey as a free agent, Vitaly Potapenko, Kenny Anderson and Joe Forte, who were sent to Seattle in a five-player trade that brought Vin Baker and Shammond Williams to Boston.
Davis proved to be an exciting player, and Welsch an offensive threat from three-point range (albeit an inconsistent one), but neither was capable of playing the tenacious defense that had become a trademark of O'Brien's teams.
Still, with Pierce playing at his usual level, Davis providing a second scoring punch, and occasional help from rookie Marcus Banks at point guard the Celtics prepared for yet another playoff run.
During his second off-season, Ainge was able to unload some payroll when he acquired veterans Gary Payton and Rick Fox from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Mihm, Atkins and bench player Jumaine Jones.
Walker was sent to the Miami Heat in a multi-team sign-and-trade deal (the largest trade in NBA history) that brought the Celtics Qyntel Woods and Curtis Borchardt, both of whom would later be released, two future second-round draft picks, the rights to Spanish center Albert Miralles, and cash.
As the streak grew, some suggested that Pierce sit out the rest of the season to the let the young players such as Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo and Delonte West get more experience.
[47] By adding Garnett to All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the trade brought a new era of relevancy to the long struggling franchise, but it also left the roster short-handed.
[55] On September 26, center Esteban Batista and guard Dahntay Jones signed non-guaranteed contracts with the Celtics, two days before the beginning of training camp and the team's departure to Rome for the 2007 NBA Europe Live Tour.
[59][60][61] The final roster move occurred on March 4, as guard free agent Sam Cassell signed with the Celtics,[62] even if his debut was delayed due to attending a family funeral on his hometown of Baltimore.
The 2008 NBA Finals were contested with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and a Los Angeles Lakers team in the middle of a dominant playoff run.
In game six, though Ray Allen scored 51 points, the Bulls would win in a dramatic triple-overtime victory thanks to John Salmons, Ben Gordon and eventual NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose.
During the short preseason following the 2011 NBA lockout, the Celtics signed free agents Marquis Daniels, Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling and Greg Stiemsma, while acquiring Brandon Bass from the Magic for Glen Davis and Von Wafer.
The Celtics also signed free agents Jason Terry, Jason Collins, Leandro Barbosa and Darko Miličić, acquired Courtney Lee in a three-team sign and trade – where Johnson, Moore, Sean Williams and a future second round pick were sent to the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers got Sasha Pavlovic – and renewed with Brandon Bass and Keyon Dooling along with Chris Wilcox and Jeff Green, who both were returning to play after sustaining season-ending heart ailments.
[73] On January 15 the Celtics traded Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for future first and second round picks as well as Miami Heat center Joel Anthony.
On December 18, 2014, Rondo and rookie Dwight Powell were traded to Dallas for center Brandan Wright, forward Jae Crowder, veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, and future picks.
[83] On August 22, 2017, the Celtics agreed to a deal that sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Žižić, and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
On the team's opening night game in the first quarter against the Cavaliers, Hayward suffered a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle in his left leg,[86] causing him to be ruled out for the rest of the regular season.
Following a series of transactions, the team landed Romeo Langford with the 14th pick and also added Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards, and Tremont Waters (2020 G-league Rookie of the year).
[98] In the 2020 playoffs, the Celtics swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, beat the Toronto Raptors in a seven-game series, and fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals in six games.
