In a candid interview with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, Danny Ainge took responsibility for the issues that plagued the 18-19 season, particularly with Kyrie Irving and the issues Brad Stevens had managing their depth.

"Kyrie for his first year and a half was terrific for us, and I was hopeful that it was going to be a good marriage going forward," said Ainge. "But he really wanted to go home, and that's his choice, and I don't know why he gets all the blame. I mean, I'm the one who should be blamed for last year. We put a team together that just didn't have pieces that fit. We had a lot of talent, a lot of expectations. It's certainly not Kyrie's fault."

Nichols asked if Ainge believed it was his fault.

"I do think it was my fault. I think there's some things I wish I did different. In hindsight, we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for Brad. We had a deep roster. We were built for a longer run. We had a lot of guys that had a lot of success without Gordon (Hayward) and Kyrie, and the guys that had success without those two guys felt like it was their time for the spotlight. It just didn't mesh."