The Celtics promoted Brad Stevens from head coach to president of basketball operations today, but they never considered having him handle both roles, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Stevens said he would have been happy to continue coaching if Danny Ainge was still running the front office, but he began considering the move in conversations with owner Wyc Grousbeck when Ainge started talking about retirement.
Grousbeck said he considers coaching and personnel decisions to be “two separate jobs,” and Bontemps adds that neither Stevens nor management pushed for a dual role. The idea of having a head coach with a prominent voice in front office decisions has become less common across the league in recent years.
“I think it’s too much (to do both jobs),” Stevens said. “All of my intention, energy, focus is doing this job well, and hiring a great coach and trusting they will do their job well. I think that everyone will benefit from that approach. To me, that would have been a lot to be able to do both of those things. I know some people have done it, some people have done it really well, but that would have been a great challenge.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Hawks assistant general manager Landry Fields has been mentioned as a candidate to become GM of the Celtics, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). Bondy notes that Fields could complement Stevens because of his history in dealing with agent and player relationships.
- Before turning to Stevens, the Celtics thought about trying to land long-time Thunder general manager Sam Presti, sources confirmed to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. A Massachusetts native, Presti has been with the organization since 2007 when it was still in Seattle. Several other internal candidates were considered, according to O’Connor, who adds that there have been rumors for months that Ainge might be leaving, with speculation that he would be interested in working for Utah, where much of his family lives, or possibly Portland.
- Ainge’s decision to step down has been in the works for a couple of months, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Sources tell Murphy that Ainge informed ownership of his intentions shortly after the March 25 trade deadline.
- Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann is a strong “sleeper” candidate as the Celtics begin their search for a new head coach, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Like Stevens, Holtmann is a former Butler coach and has enjoyed success in the college ranks. Hollinger mentions Dayton’s Anthony Grant as another under-the-radar possibility.
Presti would have just blown up the team like he ended up doing with OKC.
Not sure that he would have got a lot of blowback from Boston fans after the miserable year they just had. Incredibly underachieving and unlikable bunch.
3 guys on the roster that you don’t truly entertain if you are the celtics, 2 are untouchable. Tatum, Brown and Rob Williams. Everyone else, open to calls
Not surprised that Ainge retired – but Stevens turning his back on coaching, was a small shock.
Ainge probably had too much of the vitriol the last few years – the never-ending fallout from the IT trade, failing to get the top FA’s, failing to keep their FA’s, more misses than hits on all of those draft picks (that stash has coincidentally, ran out).
Add the fact that these coming last 2 years of Kemba’s contract will likely be a slow burn of injuries and lost opportunities.
Now, Stevens leaving coaching, was a bit of a shock. It’s probably a burnout of sorts. Believe me, anything close to 10 years with the same job, same company will get most folks (it got me).
Stevens’ only consolation, he has 2 young stars to build around, unlike many other teams ……… he can opt to shop Jaylen/Smart around, to add more depth. Good luck to him.
Ainge finally retires, he’ll always be a CELTICS legend. Ainge can go back to his golf game – heard Mario Elie is in Florida and plays golf as well.
The whole thing smells a little funky. He turns down the huge offer from IU in season. Then moves into the front office 3 months later.
Behind the scenes I’m thinking Ainge’s health is cause for reason and limits his ability to fully dedicate. Moving Stevens into the role keeps the calm and familiar face.
I’m curious if Steven’s would’ve considered the Duke job
They’re calling Quin Snyder before they call Stevens
Ainge is voluntarily leaving the FO.
Stevens is voluntarily leaving the sidelines.
I don’t believe Ainge for a second. Not sure about Stevens – seems like he’s being pushed out but if that was the case why not take the IU deal?
I think with the heat ownership and Ainge has taken from our fanbase about screwing up all that draft capital he got from the Nets and missing on SO MNAY 1st round picks, it forced their hand. My money is on them giving Danny the graceful exit of retiring or he’d be fired.
As for Brad, I don’t think he’s qualified to take over considering he has no real front office experience aside from interacting with Ainge. I think ownership looks at the big extension they just gave Brad and are thinking “Crap! We just extended this guy and we’ll look like idiots if we fire him, let’s move him into Ainge’s position and see if we can justify all that money we gave him”
So good luck Brad, you have a cluttered young roster without much promise. Hopefully we keep our core 3 and get rid of some of the younger guys for veterans who can fill some of the gaps we have.
Getting a new voice in that locker room is needed so I’m happy we will get a new coach. I’d love to see Sam Cassell get the job, he has championship experience winning 3 as a player (especially the one he helped get in Boston 2008) he is a well traveled veteran with coaching experience as he coached with Doc for many years. In my mind, he’d be a great fit. Time will tell.