Odds on next Celtics coach include a number of former players

Odds on next Celtics coach include a number of former players


WEEI By Ryan Hannable

4 hours ago

The Celtics have shook up their organization in a big way on Wednesday.

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge has stepped down and will be replaced by coach Brad Stevens. The Celtics will now look for their next head coach.

Odds have already been released by SportsLine and they include a number of former players.

Sam Cassell +300
Chauncey Billups +400
Jay Larranaga +500
Jason Kidd +700
Becky Hammon +800
Kenny Atkinson +900
Jeff Van Gundy +1000
Mark Jackson +1200
Jay Wright +2500
Juwan Howard +3000
Rick Pitino +5000

112288

Add Jerry Stackhouse and Kara Lawson to the list

Those are some incredibly long odds on Pitino... No surprise there! Kara Lawson would probably say thanks but no thanks to this one. She just got going at Duke and is already committed to coaching the 3X3 team in Tokyo this summer. Both would be hard to give up even for a shot at a coaching first. Stack, Kidd or Billups present interesting candidates for a young roster.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisgrenham/2021/06/03/10-potential-candidates-to-replace-brad-stevens-as-boston-celtics-head-coach/?sh=4f72cc696899



Jun 3, 2021,06:00am EDT



10 Potential Candidates To Replace Brad Stevens As Boston Celtics Head Coach



Chris Grenham


Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens calls out to an official during the second half of an NBA ... [+] ASSOCIATED PRESS



Former Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens suddenly finds himself leading the search to find his replacement. In the blink of an eye, the Celtics season came to an end and the organization’s front office underwent a serious makeover, but that doesn’t change the timeline for the next four months.

Boston has a vital offseason ahead of it, and finding a head coach now sits atop the to-do list. Stevens knows the coaching market better than anyone and likely has as good a network in this area as any front office executive around the NBA. He knows Boston’s system and personnel like the back of his hand, and his extensive knowledge of his coaching counterparts will be advantageous for the Celtics moving forward.

It will be a coveted position for a number of reasons, and as Adrian Wojnarowski said Wednesday on SportsCenter, the candidate pool could very well expand as the playoffs continue to roll on. No matter what, however, everyone has one question in mind: What names are on his list?

First and foremost, Boston will do its due diligence with internal candidates including assistant coaches Jerome Allen and Jay Larranaga, according to a source.


Internal Candidates

Jay Larranaga

Larranaga was one of the finalists for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching position in 2018. Charlotte had both Larranaga and then-San Antonio Spurs assistant James Borrego back for second interviews before ultimately deciding to offer Borrego the job. Stevens has a great relationship with Larranaga, who has been on the Celtics staff since 2012, making him the longest-tenured assistant. In the last few years, he has worked closely with Marcus Smart as he continued to improve his 3-point shooting, and more recently Jayson Tatum as his shooting coach throughout the 2020-21 season.


Jerome Allen

Allen is another well-respected member of the Celtics staff, having been with the team since 2015. After a professional playing career of roughly 14 years, Allen jumped onto the University of Pennsylvania staff as an assistant. Following the firing of Glen Miller, he served as the head coach for five full seasons at Penn before arriving in Boston. That head coaching experience will serve him well when it comes to potential openings.

Other internal candidates with head coaching experience include Scott Morrison and Brandon Bailey, both at the G League level, and Joe Mazzulla at Division II Fairmont State.

Larranaga and Allen likely are the top internal candidates, but it is safe to say Boston, led by Stevens, will go through a wide range of coaches before landing on a new hire. Amid the ongoing shakeup, it could make more sense for Boston to bring in an external candidate.


Top External Candidates (Tier 1)

Sam Cassell

Simply put, Cassell should be one of Boston’s top targets. A veteran of 1,129 NBA games, Cassell ended his pro career with the Celtics and is a candidate who would immediately command the locker room. If you want players to buy in right away, the 51-year-old may be Boston’s best bet. Cassell currently is in his 12th season as an assistant coach. He began his coaching career with five years in Washington, followed by six with the Clippers before following Doc Rivers to Philadelphia for the 2020-21 season. Cassell’s track record as both a player and coach, as well as his brief ties to Boston, make him a no-brainer candidate atop this list.


Lloyd Pierce

Pierce was fired by the Atlanta Hawks mid-way through his third season as head coach this past March, but he remains a hot free agent candidate. Prior to Atlanta, he spent four seasons in Philadelphia where he ultimately became a prominent member of the coaching staff. Pierce already is considered a candidate for the Boston opening, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.

Pierce is well-renowned within the coaching community, and Stevens leads that charge as much as anyone. On March 2, shortly after Pierce was fired, Stevens praised him in a pregame interview.

“Lloyd is an unbelievable coach,” Stevens said. “When I turn on their games — and they just beat us by 30 last week — I learn something every time I watch his teams play. And then on top of that, the kind of person he is, the leader that he is and his impact on and off the court. You know, obviously, I’ve communicated a little bit with Lloyd since the firing, but my two thoughts would be, he can do whatever he wants next, he’s going to be in high, high demand all around the NBA, and my second thought would be, I’m not sure people understand how hard winning is. It’s just tough. ... I’m a big fan of Lloyd Pierce, put it that way.”

So, it’s pretty clear that Stevens is an admirer of Pierce’s. He also coached Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart on Team USA during the 2019 FIBA World Cup. There are numerous reasons why Pierce will be considered for the Celtics opening, and rightfully so.


Kara Lawson

In her one season on the Celtics staff, Lawson was extremely well-liked and well-respected within the organization. She knows Boston’s system and personnel better than any external candidate, and her relationships with the Celtics’ core should easily make her one of the top candidates. Yes, she was only in Boston for one season, but the impression she made was palpable.

Former Celtics forward and current NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine said Wednesday that Lawson is his pick to get the job.

“She's insanely good as a coach,” Scalabrine said. “It's not one of those things where, ‘she's good for a female.’ No, no no. She walked into practice and she commanded practice right from the jump. She was giving people tips and people's jaws were dropping. She's elite at what she does. ... To me, Kara Lawson, I thought from the jump that she has head coaching material within five minutes talking with her.”

Lawson left the Celtics near the end of her first season to become the head women’s coach at Duke. The Blue Devils played just four games in her debut campaign before canceling the remainder of their season due to health and safety concerns related to covid-19. It remains to be seen whether or not Lawson would be willing to leave Duke less than one year after arriving in Durham.


Chauncey Billups

Like Cassell, Billups is a former Celtic and long-time NBA veteran who can command a locker room. He currently is an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers, which is the first coaching position of his career. Working with Tyronn Lue to help lead a star-studded roster in L.A. is a good experience for Billups in year one of his coaching journey. If the Celtics wanted to go the former player route, Cassell may be a slightly safer option due to his coaching experience, but there is no doubting Billups’ leadership and championship credentials. That would be a welcomed addition in Boston.


Other External Candidates (Tier 2)

David Vanterpool

Vanterpool has been a head coaching candidate for what feels like far too long now. It’s only a matter of time until he ends up at the helm somewhere in the NBA, but is Boston the answer?

After six seasons in Portland, Vanterpool became Minnesota’s top assistant, a role he has been in for the last two seasons. He is more than qualified for a head coaching position and likely should have gotten the Minnesota opening over Chris Finch earlier this year. A defensive-minded coach like Vanterpool certainly is something Stevens could get behind.


Becky Hammon

Like Vanterpool, Hammon is very qualified for a head coaching gig — it’s just a matter of finding the right fit. A product of the Gregg Popovich system, Hammon has risen through the ranks in San Antonio as a tremendous leader. Again, like Vanterpool, her name is constantly in the discussion whenever a job opening hits the market. Coming off her seventh season with the Spurs, don’t surprised to see her mentioned as a serious candidate for the Boston opening.

Before facing San Antonio on April 30th, Stevens was asked about Hammon and if he thought the NBA was close to getting its first female head coach. He noted that there are several qualified candidates, but said Hammon stands out from the bunch.

“Becky obviously is a terrific candidate,” Stevens said. “I don’t know her well, but I know what people think about her and I know how well she is respected all across the league by the players and coaches. So, I would hope that that time is coming very soon.”


Ime Udoka

Udoka is currently in his ninth season as an NBA assistant and his first with the Brooklyn Nets. After spending seven years with Popovich in San Antonio, Udoka went to Philadelphia for one season before joining Steve Nash’s new-look staff. Udoka would bring a unique background to Boston following his professional career as a player and extensive success as an NBA assistant.


Darvin Ham

Ham has excelled as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer in both Atlanta and Milwaukee. Now in his 10th season as an NBA assistant, Ham has become a well-respected coaching mind around the league. He recently was a finalist for the Indiana Pacers opening that ultimately went to Nate Bjorkgren. Like many of his counterparts on this list, it seems to be a matter of “when,” not “if” he’ll land a head coaching position.

With a busy offseason ahead of them, the Celtics’ search to find their new head coach already is underway, and Stevens is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’ve been in that locker room with some of those guys for a long time,” Stevens said Wednesday. “They’ll get to play for a great coach, with some similarities maybe, but also some great new fresh perspectives. That’s a good thing. So, I’m looking forward to finding that person, because I do think people can be reinvigorated by that.”


Bob


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Anyone know how why Pierce was fired from Hawks? Just saw them beat Knicks, that Hawk team has a lot of talent. Besides Trae Young, love Clint Capella, we probably could have gotten him when Rockets were just giving him away, if not for the burden of the Kemba contract. If your going to put your chips on your wings then like Kobe and MJ you don’t need a great PG, but you still need a good enough big that can do the dirty work.

Anyone know how why Pierce was fired from Hawks?

Cow, I live in Middle Ga. and the sports radio talk in this area was that Coach Pierce had a serious disconnect with the young core players. Trae Young, Cam Reddish and John Collins in particular. According to the local radio personality the young guys bristled at the old school disciplinary ways of Pierce. I don’t know if that was truly the case. Dboss, who lives in the Atlanta area and is in tune with the Atlanta sports teams happenings, could no doubt have a more informed view on what went down and also his impressions of Pierce as a possible candidate.

Pittino  still appears in my nightmare,the arrogant little turd, repeating  "Larry Bird isn't walking thru that door" like a Satanic mantra.