"Hiring Brad Stevens is a slick, smart move by the Boston Celtics"

the more I hear about this move the more I like it.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/22625902/hiring-brad-stevens-to-replace-doc-rivers-in-boston-is-a-slick-move-by-the-celtics

Completely out of left, right, center and all the other fields in between Indiana and Massachusetts, the Boston Celtics named 36-year-old Brad Stevens as their next head coach on Wednesday.

It's a fantastic hire. And here's why: It's all about risk vs. reward.

The Celtics are transitioning and, within that, they need a new vision, a new energy and a new mind-set. Danny Ainge is accomplishing something very specific by hiring Stevens: If his new coach crashes and burns, the team stinks, they strategically tank, get better draft picks and then go hire a proven NBA coach once the cupboard gets restocked with talent and assets.

Stevens to Boston
Celtics hire Brad Stevens as new head coach

If he succeeds -- which I think he will -- then Ainge has one of the brightest young coaching talents to lead and develop his revamped roster for the long term. And, best of all, Ainge looks like a smarty pants in the meantime.

Instead of recycling a has-been coach who's bounced around different teams the past decade, Ainge is going bold and taking a shot. It's an outside-the-box move but one that's appropriate for an organization that's leaving one era behind and looking to begin anew.

Gone is Doc Rivers, and shortly after him followed Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and any shred of hope or belief the Celtics could contend another season. They're well on their way to a full-on rebuild and, with that, have to adjust and amend their focus and goals.

Enter Stevens, one of the most successful, respected collegiate coaches over the past five years. He has spent his time at Butler, a mid-major program that's developed into a major factor in the world of college basketall. Two national title appearances and inches away from claiming a championship on a banked-in halfcourt shot.

The Celtics don't have a great recent history of hiring from the college ranks (Rick Pitino, 1997), but Brad Stevens is to Rick Pitino what the Beatles are to Metallica. Assuming Stevens will fail just because of the Pitino disaster is like swearing off donuts because you got sick eating one out of a trash can one time.

Instant reaction
Twitter goes wild with Celtics' bold move

College coaches often don't translate well to the NBA. They want too much control of the locker room, they want too much command of the huddle, they want too much power over the team. Being an NBA coach is as much about working personalities and chemistry as it is coaching them to be better basketball players.

In college, the coach often becomes the star, the focus of everything. Players come and go every four years (or every one year, in a lot of cases), and the coaches become the face of the program and grow into the identifying factor with the team. Especially the great ones. When you think of Duke, you think of Coach K. When you think of Carolina, you think of Roy Williams. When you think of Alabama, you think of Nick Saban (I'm just assuming he coaches the basketball team, too).
So many college coaches -- cough, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Lon Kruger, cough -- wanted to take the college approach to the pro locker room with a message of no one player is bigger than the team, we're all the same here, stars don't matter. Well, stars do matter in the NBA. Some players are, in fact, bigger than the team. And some players need to be treated as such.

But all of that above is exactly how Stevens ran his Butler program. He made it a point to emphasize the positives, to resist yelling at officials, to remain as calm as possible, to keep his nose out of the smallest, most tedious details of the game. He coaches, but he doesn't overcoach. Stevens has always thought that a calm, focused coach leads to calm, focused players. He intently coached his players with optimism and encourgement while finding that very challenging balance to also command their unwavering respect. That stuff is true coaching talent.

And Stevens will immediately have his work cut out for him in that regard. His mercurial point guard is an enigma who needs coddling, attention and special treatment. Stevens will have to cultivate his relationship with Rajon Rondo, build trust and understand what both want to get out of this. Rondo is a tough player to coach but, again, Stevens isn't going to point a finger in his face and tell him what to do. Stevens' unique coaching style is more about working with a player, hearing them out and them making a decision together. Seems to me like that might just be the perfect approach for a player like Rondo.

Stevens takes an analytical approach to the game, using advanced metrics to influence decisions. That type of mind-set has steadily been gaining steam in the NBA game the past few years, and Stevens understands the balance between old school and new school. Let the numbers confirm what your eyes are telling you. He coaches with constructive criticism and positive reinforcement instead of just yelling. He wants his players to be confident and without fear that they might get benched for taking a dumb shot or throwing a silly pass. In other words, he's pretty perfect to coach a roster that's about to be made up of young, brash, dumb and immature players.

The Celtics have taken some serious blows over the past couple of weeks and have had to re-evaluate who they are and what their future is going to be. But they've taken a very clever and a very positive step forward by bringing in Stevens. Win or lose, the Celtics are big winners.

EyeOn

Basketball

Celtics hire Butler coach Brad Stevens as next head coach


By Matt Moore | NBA writer

July 3, 2013 5:50 pm ET

















Brad Stevens is the next head coach of the Celtics. (USATSI) Brad Stevens is the next head coach of the Celtics. (USATSI)








No leaks, no meetings, no word of interviews. Underneath the madness of information with NBA free agency, the Boston Celtics quietly announced the hiring of Butler University coach Brad Stevens as their next head coach on Wednesday.

The Boston Herald reports Stevens' new deal is a six-year contract with Boston.

From the Celtics' press release:


The Boston Celtics announced today that they have come to an agreement with Brad Stevens to be the 17th head coach of the team. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

Stevens, age 36, has served for the past six years as the head coach of Butler University, never winning fewer than 22 games and leading the Bulldogs to two national championship games against Duke and Connecticut. He was the youngest coach to reach the Final Four since Bob Knight in 1973.

A native of Zionsville, Indiana, Stevens was a three-time academic All-America nominee while earning four varsity letters at DePauw University, before graduating with a degree in economics. He later joined the Butler University program as the coordinator of basketball operations under then-coach Thad Matta, before being named head coach in 2007.

"Brad and I share a lot of the same values," said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. "Though he is young, I see Brad as a great leader who leads with impeccable character and a strong work ethic. His teams always play hard and execute on both ends of the court. Brad is a coach who has already enjoyed lots of success, and I look forward to working with him towards Banner 18."

Stevens and his wife Tracy, along with their children Brady and Kinsley, will be introduced to the media at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Celtics Training Center at Healthpoint.

via Celtics Hire Brad Stevens as Head Coach | The Official Site of the BOSTON CELTICS.

And from Butler:


Brad Stevens, head coach of the Butler University men's basketball team, today announced his acceptance of the head coach position of the Boston Celtics.

"Our family is thrilled for the opportunity given to us by the leadership of the Boston Celtics, but it is emotional to leave a place that we have called home for the past 13 years," said Stevens.

"We truly love Butler University and Indianapolis, and are very thankful to have had the opportunity to celebrate so many wonderful things together. What makes Butler truly unique is the people that we have been so blessed to work with. When it comes time for our kids to look at schools, we will start with Butler University." Stevens and his wife, Tracy, have a young son and daughter.

In his six seasons as Butler's head men's basketball coach, Stevens compiled a record of success unmatched in NCAA annals. The 36-year-old Butler coach has led the Bulldogs to a 166-49 record, including a 12-5 record in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Four conference regular season championships, three league tournament titles, and six trips to postseason tournament play. His 166 wins is the most for any NCAA Division I basketball coach over the first six years to start a career.

Stevens owns the top two single season win totals in Butler and Horizon League history, and he's the only coach in school and league history to lead a team to back-to-back NCAA Division I national championship games in 2010 and 2011.

In 2009-2010, Stevens engineered the most remarkable season in Butler basketball history. The Bulldogs posted a 33-5 overall record, the Horizon League's first 18-0 conference mark and fourth overall unbeaten record, a fourth consecutive league regular season championship, a second conference tourney crown. The Bulldogs were nationally-ranked for the fourth straight year, compiled a school-record 25-game win streak, which was the longest in the nation. Stevens was named NABC All-District 12 Coach, and he was a finalist for several additional national coaching awards. Butler ended the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the final ESPN/USA Today national poll.

"In keeping with The Butler Way, Brad has given his talent to our University with exceptional generosity, integrity, and humility," said President James M. Danko. "His record as the winningest coach in NCAA history during his first six years as head coach, his leadership of Butler's dual Final Four® runs, and his work ethic have made him a beloved member of our community."

Danko added, "We have done everything we can to keep Brad here at Butler; however, the Celtics team has offered Brad and his family a unique opportunity with which no university can compete."

Butler has begun the process of hiring a new head coach to lead the men's basketball team in its inaugural year of BIG EAST Conference competition.

"Brad is leaving a great legacy and an excellent foundation for us to build on" said Vice President and Athletic Director Barry Collier. "Our athletics program has an extremely bright future, and we are confident that Butler's first year in the BIG EAST will be an outstanding one."

via Brad Stevens To Take Boston Celtics Coaching Position - Butler.

The questions with Stevens are going to come regarding his ability to make the transition to the professional ranks, something college coaches have a hard time with, and his relative inexperience. At age 36, there are quite a few NBA players, some of whom just left the team in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, older than him. How will he mesh with Rajon Rondo? Does this further cement the idea, despite Ainge's comments this week that the Celtics are not tanking, that Boston is fully committed to a youth movement?

It's a bold hire for Boston that, if it works, will be seen as an absolutly brilliant move. If it doesn't ... the Celtics' expectations in the short term are so bleak, it's hard to imagine Stevens actually disappointing outside of a complete disaster. Either way, it's a move out of the clear blue sky that has caught punidts (like, oh, say, us) completely off guard.

Stevens takes over for Doc Rivers, who left to take the job with the Los Angeles Clippers two weeks ago.