Now it’s the Dee League
Former Celtic has spring in his step
Dee Brown has been savoring the Celtics’ recent success from afar. But this season, Brown will have a closer look at his former team as he coaches the Springfield Armor, an expansion team in the NBA Development League.
“I’m not using this as a steppingstone,’’ Brown said. “This is a development league and it’s my job to put players in the best position and showcase them. It isn’t about me. It’s about developing players and having them show what they can do. If I can get three or four guys called up, I’ve done my job.’’
Springfield (affiliated with the Nets, Knicks, and 76ers) and the Maine Red Claws are expansion teams in the D-League, which begins play in late November.
Brown, 40, started his NBA career with the Celtics in 1990, an experience that shaped his identity. He also played for the Magic and Raptors, and maintains a home in Orlando, but considers himself a Celtic for life.
“Once a Celtic, always a Celtic,’’ Brown said. “Guys who had 10-day contracts consider themselves a Celtic.
“I’ve had experience in the WNBA, I was with the Magic as a special assistant to [general manager] John Gabriel, so I’ve worked with the business side and the basketball side.
“But we’re a brand-new franchise and I’m running the whole basketball side. We have no players right now and there is a lot of work to do, but it’s good. I have to pick the players, set up the practice facility, hire a trainer.
“I have a great owner who understands minor league sports. I’m back in Mass., where a lot of people know me, and this is a great opportunity. I’m optimistic.
“It’s a chance to be affiliated with the [NBA] again and it’s a chance to be around guys who are trying to get where you were. They are humble and they are hungry, and I have a chance to pass what I’ve learned on to them.’’
Brown joined the Celtics when Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish were just past their peak, and after 56- and 51-win seasons, the team experienced some difficult times.
“For me, going to the Celtics, with all the great players, the great minds, and being in a basketball town - a lot of players don’t get a chance to experience that,’’ Brown said. “I learned a lot of stuff off the court.
“Going from the last years of the Big Three to the worst team in history, winning 15 games. The old Garden to the FleetCenter, at that time. Going from being on top, the captain of a storied franchise, to sixth man, to being traded - when you think you are going to be part of a franchise forever.
“And the adversity. People don’t understand that I was not drafted to be the face of the franchise, but to be a role player. Then, the Big Three retired, Reggie Lewis passed away, [Rick] Pitino came in.
“I’ve seen the spectrum, from being the No. 1 player to a guy the coach feels can’t do anything for the franchise anymore. It was a learning experience, and so I can talk to players candidly about these things.’’
Brown relates to Celtic point guard Rajon Rondo.
“I was the first version of Rondo, a young guy playing with three great players,’’ Brown said, “trying to appease and smooth egos. Rondo’s maturity is going to be a big factor for the Celtics. He’s a great kid and he is going to be important in how the team does. The window of opportunity is small. It’s a two- or three-year window.
“I was happy for Danny [Ainge] and Doc [Rivers] and Paul [Pierce], because I knew they went through tough times there. Last year, it was tough when [Kevin Garnett] got hurt. But they got Rasheed [Wallace] and they can make a run at it.
“A lot of teams got better in the East, and what it always comes down to is health. KG having part of last year off might have given him more incentive and it could be a blessing in disguise.’’
Brown has been scouting in Florida but plans to return to Springfield for Basketball Hall of Fame ceremonies, as Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, and C. Vivian Stringer will be inducted Sept. 11 and 12.
“I will be part of the festivities, but that’s as close as I’ll get to being in there,’’ Brown said. “Our D-League is the start of a career and the goal is to go across the street [to the Hall of Fame] at the end of your career.
“This induction class is special. I went head to head with Stockton, who is one of the top two or three point guards ever. I guarded MJ, maybe the best player ever. And David I first met when I was in college in Jacksonville and he was stationed in St. George, Ga., and he came to practice with us. [Robinson served two years in the US Navy.] I got a first-hand look at how good and special those guys were, because they were at their peak - not at the end of their careers or young rookies.
“Stockton was breaking Magic Johnson’s records, but not winning championships - because of Jordan. David won one after Jordan retired. Guys being inducted in the next two or three years are going to be enshrined on individual accomplishments, because Michael and Hakeem Olajuwon kept them from winning championships.
“When they announced Michael was going to be inducted it was funny, because he seemed like he was disappointed. He said this shows my career is finished, not 99.9 percent finished, it’s really finished.
“He’s such a competitor, the most competitive person I’ve been around, along with Larry.’’
Etc.
Frank Dell’Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com. 
