Expectations were sky-high for last year's Boston Celtics, but a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and second-round playoff loss forced president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to reflect on the decisions he made.
"I think that in hindsight we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for (coach) Brad (Stevens), more joy for him to coach," Ainge told ESPN's Rachel Nichols.
The Celtics were expected to be title contenders in 2018-19 after losing in Game 7 of the conference finals the year before with a team devoid of injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.