Here's what you had to say about Rick Pitino's 3½ years as coach and president of the Celtics:

Introducing the first Owner-GM-Player-Coach
OK, here's the problem: Rick's a great guy, and a good, solid coach, but he simply cannot command the necessary respect from professional players that is so essential for success in this league. As everyone and their grandmothers have been saying for the past two years, his game is fantastic for the collegiate game, but is simply not compatible or realistic in this arena of bloated salaries and insurmountable egos.

Here's the solution: Introduce the first ever Owner-GM-Player-Coach ... well, maybe Larry could let Danny do the coaching so he can focus on pulling the franchise out of the crapper. I don't think Kevin is doing much of anything right now, either. Who better to teach Battie how to use those elbows? Hell, while you're at it I'll bet DJ and The Chief are available too. Bring the pride back ... we're dying up here. It's not like we can watch football or hockey to relieve our despair. Jung called alcoholism a low-level search for God – I'm expanding that definition to include a bonafide NBA coach, a dominant center and some balcony seats at the Fleet for under $25. No luck yet, but I'll keep searching, damnit.

– A Celt-Fan For Life (or the Sox home opener... whichever comes first)

Carl
Boston

NCAA, not NBA
Unfortunately, a head coach has to be as in tune with the attitudes of his players as he is with their athletic abilities. I was a big fan of Pitino when he arrived in Boston, but he never got out of the college mentality. NBA players simply cannot be motivated throughout an 82-game season. Pitino has nothing to hang his head about, as a very bitter fan I still have to appreciate his work ethic. If Larry comes in as GM and Rick ends up at UNLV, I think everybody wins.

Ron DiNocco
Peabody, Mass.

	“	This is the happiest day in Boston history since the tea party! ”
		— Sanju

Bill Parcells complained that the Patriots owner put him in charge of the kitchen but wouldn't let him shop for groceries. Pitino did the grocery shopping, but we all know it's a mistake to go food shopping when you're hungry. You end up buying all sorts of stuff you don't really need. All this was compounded, I believe, by the fact that Pitino's reputation as a "motivator" works well in college, but not at the NBA level, notwithstanding his two-year Knicks experience.

Joe Baker
Portsmouth, R.I.

I think this was the best thing for all parties. Pitino has always been better suited to coach college. He's primarily concerned with teaching the players, whereas a pro coach has to be as good at babysitter as X's and O's. Pitino will return to Kentucky, after Tubby Smith is fired and Larry Bird will be lured out of retirement and handed the reins to the Celtics, just as he should be.

David Wright
Wilmington, Del.

Somebody stop the press!
He did his best but he is just not an NBA coach. The C's can still make the playoffs, let face it, Toronto is hardly any better than we are. They are a one-man show, at least we've got a dynamic duo that can put up over 60 points a night. As long as 'Toine keeps playing unselfish, crashes the boards, and goes for those triple-doubles, we're a good team. Our main problem for the last three seasons has been our inability to close teams out down the stretch. Obviously that had to do with fatigue from the pressing style of defensive Pitino preached. Get rid of the press. Play unselfish. And we can beat any other team in the East.

Will Apotheker
Newton, Mass.

Pota-who? Williams, again?
Thank God he is finally gone! Forget how bad of a coach he was ... this guy had no clue about making personnel decisions. Yeah, he got ripped off when the Celts didn't get the 1st pick ... but he had the 3rd and the 6th pick in the draft! It's pretty hard to mess up with those picks, but he did! And of course we all know he traded Billups and Mercer very quickly. How about Travis Knight? Vitaly Potapenko ... was this the center the Celtics needed? They traded away their first round pick for him! Or maybe trading Eric Williams only to trade FOR him. Should we even mention Jerome Moiso? This guy had the power to put together a good team to coach and didn't even come close to getting the job done.

Neil
Boston

His own worst enemy
Rick Pitino the coach's greatest nemesis was Rick Pitino the GM. Admittedly the ping-pong balls did not bounce his way a few years ago (otherwise Tim Duncan would have been a Celtic) but they did get a No. 3 and No. 6 yet have nothing to show for it. Pierce was a great pickup but that's only because he fell to the No. 10 spot, a no-brainer selection. Anderson has been less than spectacular, Walker was signed at the maximum and Potapenko has done nothing but remind us that Andre Miller could be occupying a spot in the C's backcourt. Hopefully they can make the most of their draft picks upcoming, as Pitino struggled to do so during his tenure.

Matt Gallant
St. Louis

Ping-pong ball theories
Why didn't Pitino succeed? Well, he and his supporters say it was because they didn't get Duncan in the lottery. I always thought Pitino was a good coach and a stand-up guy until I heard his failure at Boston was because of a ping-pong ball. What a joke. I'm surprised he didn't wear Green Jeans while coaching, not because of the Celtics color, but to match his fascination with Captain Kangaroo's favorite gag.

Matt Rushenberg
Indianapolis

Rick Pitino proved himself to be a super college coach (BU, Providence, Kentucky), but he got eaten alive by the pro personnel and salary cap game. To be sure, losing the Tim Duncan-draft lottery sweepstakes hurt – but with Duncan the Celts would have been a 2nd round playoff team at best.

Chris Rings
Boston

There is no doubt he can coach, the problem is he cannot change his coaching style. He made M.L. Carr look like Jerry West when it came to being a GM. Its funny how life works, if the Celts get Tim Duncan we are not talking about Pitino at all!

Mark Chase
Coventry, R.I.

Heartfelt thanks
My heart is heavy today. Rick Pitino gave his soul to this ballclub and received little in return. As a witness to most of the team's games this season I would say the team either lacks talent or athletes humble enough to accept tutoring from an authorative figure. Pitino was the best thing to happen to this franchise and we let him slip away.

Jim Davis
Portland, Maine

Rick did all that he could. His grand mistake was believing that all professional NBA players have the same fire in their hearts for the game that he and his former college players did. But, with a few notable and esteemed exceptions, most NBA players are far more lazy and far more egotistical than what he was accustomed to. Had Pitino come into an earlier version of the NBA with his post-Kentucky coaching experience, he would have found far better results.

Scott Hyman
Los Angeles

Bird is the word
Larry Legend! Are you out there? Save us!

Noah
Brookline, Mass.

Just another example of a coach taking on to many responsibilities. Pitino never had experience as a GM and that was his downfall. He was too impatient and that led to poor trades and overall poor management of the team. If he came in as strickly the coach he might have faired a whole lot better, but because his ego (like so many other coaches in the NBA and NFL) he had to run the whole thing by himself. Now the Celtics are ruined for another three to four years. Gaston needs to sell the team to Bird and then and only then will the pride of the Celtics begin to be repaired.

Greg Deranian
Belmont, Mass.

As a lifelong Boston Celtics fan, I will tell you this ... Larry Bird is the only man who can save this team. If he comes in as GM or Coach or both, he will bring some credibility back to the once great franchise. Attendance would get a boost, and he could give Antoine Walker a clue. Bird, one of the most unselfish players who ever put on a pair of basketball shoes, could teach Pierce a thing or two. If they can escape from the woes of the cap problems, then they could be back in 5 years.

Derek Prior
Amherst, Mass.

A keen eye for talent
I tend to think the problems with the Celtics go far beyond Rick Pitino. Pitino just failed in trying to rebuild them. The deck was stacked against him from the start. The problem with Pitino was that he was a terrible judge of talent in the signings of Anderson, Potapenko and Battie. All are average players, not deserving the contracts they got. Now the Celtics are going to have to stop trying to build a playoff team and deal with a few lean years to get themselves some cap room. In other words bye-bye Walker.

Torrey Points
Pawnee, Ill.

Suffering from Westphal-itis
Rick Pitino is the latest coach to succumb to the "nice guy" problem in the NBA. Coaches who are nice guys can't function in this league. Ask Paul Westphal, a classy guy who got bounced in Seattle because he couldn't control a team full of (mostly) basketball ignorant prima donnas (see Vin Baker). Friendly, upbeat individuals cannot function, nevermind command any level of respect, in a league where you celebrate by taunting opposing fans and act angrier than an extra from "OZ" every time you make a decent play. Today's sad edition of the Boston Celtics, don't lose because they are tremendously undertalented. They're not going to set the world on fire, but when they show up and play with heart, they play with anyone and everyone. The problem is that no matter what Ricky P. tried to do, he couldn't get his band of prima donnas to play with heart. But that's not suprising when you look at the NBA, because most of the teams resemble the Celtics in that respect. No Heart!

Ben Whitney
Boston

He presses, because he cares
Rick Pitino has absolutely done the right thing ... the Boston Celtic franchise is a high-pressure franchise to coach or play for with the great tradition. Bostonians as well as Celtic fans across the world expect to win and maintain that tradition. Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that. Pitino realized that he couldn't fulfill the goals set by himself as well as the organization and decided not to waste time or Boston's money and move on. Large contracts and hype don't guarantee wins. Just ask the Washington Redskins. I think stepping down was very noble and admirable. You don't see that too often in professional sports. Pitino cares about the game.

Martin W. Bellamy
Hazard, Ky.

Hurry up and wait
Pitino is one of those fools who plants a seed and complains the next day when nothing happens. He doesn't realize patience is required and if he held by long enough a beautiful flower would bloom. He never should have given up on Billups or Mercer. Those two will be pros for a long time. Walker should be traded as soon as possible. Without a veteran presence to smack his ass into gear, he will never become the player he could be. Pierce is also a baby who looks to the refs everytime he misses a basket. He is horrible on defense and it surprises me that Pitino thought he could win with Walker and Pierce as his go-to guys.

Jameson Heos
Boston

Pitino is still a great coach. He obviously didn't accomplish what he set out to do here, but nobody every questioned his effort or commitment. He truly cared for this team and wanted to bring success back to Boston. I still like the guy and am saddened to see him leave. In the end his only real mistake was rushing things. He promised playoffs, he hastily traded away for "promising" players who never amounted to much, he threatened to resign numerous times. With patience, he would have done the job, and all these stupid, impatient Boston sports fans who surround me would say that they love the guy. That lottery really fouled things up right from the start. I don't doubt that with Duncan and Van Horn, and without the Kenny Andersons and the like on the current roster, the Celtics would be atop the weak Eastern Conference with the Sixers and the Knicks. I wish he hadn't rushed it, I wish he hadn't let Chris Wallace convince him that Vitaly Potapenko is an all-star. He never deserved the crap he got here, and I hope he doesn't hold that against this town. Good luck, coach.

Bryan Wilson
Chestnut Hill, Mass.

I think Pitino is a great coach but was a victim of his own desire to restore the Celtics' legend. He was far too impatient with players such as Billups, Mercer, and David Wesley. He was in such a hurry to get back to the top that he made it impossible to ever reach his lofty expectations. I wish he would have stayed on as coach and released his GM duties. His enthusiasm will be missed in Boston.

Mark Giancola
Marlboro, Mass.

Departs 6½ years early? Try half a year late (and that's being nice to Rick too ... some people might argue 3½ years late) This is the happiest day in Boston history since the tea party!

Sanju
Boston