Is Brad Stevens the Stephen Curry of coaches? A former Boston Celtics assistant believes so

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/10/is_brad_stevens_the_stephen_cu.html



Is Brad Stevens the Stephen Curry of coaches? A former Boston Celtics assistant believes so





Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens listens to a question during the team's NBA basketball media day at their training facility in Waltham, Mass., Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on October 08, 2015 at 12:05 PM



A few months removed from a stint with the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach Darren Erman delivered some strong praise for his former boss, comparing Brad Stevens to NBA MVP Stephen Curry.

Rob Mahoney @RobMahoney
Darren Erman on Celtics coach Brad Stevens: "Brad's a great, great, great person, great coach. He's like the Steph Curry of coaches."
8:45 AM - 8 Oct 2015
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Erman left the Celtics this summer when the Pelicans opportunity became available. Before joining Stevens' staff in Boston he served as an assistant for the Warriors, where he dealt with Curry on a daily basis.

In addition to owning an absurd skill set on the basketball court, Curry is widely regarded as an all-around good guy. Comparisons don't get much more complimentary than that.



bob
MY NOTE:  Steph Curry has always been pretty good, but he has really exploded the last 3 years (he has been in the league 6 years) as his learning curve flattened out and the game slowed down for him.  This is Brad's 3rd year.  Look, you can draft/sign a player thinking he'll be great and be wrong, and all you have to do is find a buyer and trade them as soon as the CBA allows and you can fix the problem.  If you hire the wrong coach, and you fire them because they're not working out, that is extremely disruptive.  Think Mike D'Antoni in LA.  His star is rising now because of all the credit he is being given by Steve Kerr of GSW, but in LA he was the wrong coach for that roster and Jim Buss fired him without cutting him slack for injuries (which were extensive) and without doing his job and giving him the personnel he needed to implement his strategy effectively.  The result was that LAL became completely dysfunctional as the turnover in the coaching staff throttled any forward movement the players might have produced.  You need to be very, very careful about the coach you put in charge and you have to give them who they need to get the job done.  Danny signed Brad to a record 6 year contract and has been in full-blown Trader Danny mode trying to get Brad the players he wants/needs and, piece-by-piece, he's getting there.  

I don't know about the Steph Curry comparison, but I had dinner with a friend last night who is a big Laker fan (born and raised down there, a FANATIC Dodger fan) and he LOVES Brad Stephens.  He thinks he's going to be one of the greatest of all time.  We might look back at Danny's successful recruitment of Brad Stephens, despite all the offers at both the college and professional level to leave Butler that were turned down, as being Danny's greatest coup of his career.  Brad Stevens, if he really buys into the Celtic mystique like he bought into The Butler Way, could be Danny's gift that keeps on giving long after Danny has hung them up and retires.


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