Celtics owner says he blocked Jazz, former Boston exec Danny Ainge from ‘stealing’ Joe Mazzulla in offseason

During the offseason, Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge tried to add Joe Mazzulla to the team’s coaching staff but was blocked by Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck. Ainge, of course, was the Celtics’ president of basketball operations until 2021, and has a long-standing relationship with Grousbeck and the organization. 

“I prevented Danny from stealing him this summer because I told Danny I’d fly to Utah and personally strangle him if he did. You can quote that,” Grousbeck said Tuesday during an interview with WEEI in Boston. “You can take one person, an assistant, and make them a head coach, which they did with Will Hardy.

“Then they also wanted Mazzulla, and I was like, ‘That’s it, you’re crossing the line and we’re not having it.’ That was just when Joe was senior assistant with us and now, all of a sudden, he’s interim head coach. We believe in him and I think the players believe in him for sure.”

The Jazz did hire former Celtics assistant Will Hardy to be their new head coach, but Grousbeck and the team drew the line at Mazzulla. That turned out to be a prescient decision, as Mazzulla took over as the Celtics’ interim head coach when Ime Udoka was suspended for the season due to an inappropriate relationship with a team staff member. 

By all accounts, the 34-year-old Mazzulla, who is the youngest coach in the league, has been impressive in his short time in charge, earning the trust and respect of not only the front office, but also the players. Shortly after their high-scoring, season-opening win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, the Celtics players celebrated in the locker room by pouring water on Mazzulla in honor of his first win in charge of an NBA team. 

“I’m grateful for the relationship we have,” Mazzulla said. “These guys have been through a lot together, and they’re great players. So it’s just a matter of working together. So I appreciate their trust and buy-in, but they come up with a lot of good stuff as well and we kind of just figure it out.”

The Celtics made a number of smart additions this offseason, including trading for Malcolm Brogdon, who put up 16 points and four assists off the bench against the Sixers. But while they didn’t know it at the time, preventing the Jazz from poaching Mazzulla just may have been the wisest move of all.