Brad Stevens named Celtics head coach

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knucklecup

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Ironically, just scrolled by Little Big League on Encore when Billy Heywood and a few of his teammates are throwing water balloons out the hotel window while on the road.

That's the relationship I see Rondo and Stevens having.
 

Granite Sox

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Stevens worked for the same company I do prior to coaching Butler. He was considered a rising star in the Fortune 500 corporate world at a very young age. The company was surprised he departed to follow his passion into coaching. He is very, very sharp. From my perspective, he will quickly understand "the business" of the Celtics and the NBA.

As a coach, he's done a great job of making chicken salad out of chicken sh!t. (In theory) he should do a good job of defining roles, which should help the youngsters especially. He will demand discipline and effort... Whether the vets (Rondo, Wallace, Kardashian) give it to him will be a great test. Some will thrive, and some will get buried. I especially think he will extract more from Bradley and Lee if they're around on Opening Day.
 

Steve Dillard

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the1andonly3003 said:
I bet this Celtics team surprises and wins 50 games next season
 
If they do they should fire Stevens for being selfish and bleeping up the plan.
 

riboflav

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Rudy Pemberton said:
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Remember how much the media hated Theo Epstein? Me neither. He'll be fine.
 
Not saying he won't. But, there is a difference between having to do interviews almost every day for six months versus only doing them on occasion.
 
For the record, I think Stevens is severely competitive and can handle pressure very well. Just saying it will be a far greater challenge in Boston than what he's faced thus far.
 

HomeRunBaker

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E5 Yaz said:
Rondo's definitely being traded. 
 
I've felt for almost 2 years that Rondo would be traded prior to hitting the open market and that Danny wouldn't overpay at this position for Rondo but this just about solidifies that. Good chance Rondo doesn't make it through Summer League as a Celtic.  If Ainge can get Drummond in return he needs to get it done now.
 
One thing i hate hearing is "college coaches don't translate to the NBA".......the NBA is a players league and a stars league, when a team is good it isn't looking to the colleges for an unproven head coach. With few exceptions, it is lottery teams (read: real bad teams) who cannot draw a top tier coach that look to the college level rather than the retreads......and the losing team continues losing (not because of the college coach but because the players suck) which then tags another "college coach" with a negative reputation.  It is a huge misnomer. 
 
Stevens has the persona of an NBA head coach. He is level headed, analytical and consistent in his actions......NBA players only react positively to the Pitino's and Skile's for a short period of time before tuning them out.  We are still going to lose a shit load of games next years but Love Love Love the move....well done Danny.  Now go get Drummond.
 

Van Everyman

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All I know about this guy is from the piece they did on Real Time w Bryant Gumbel -- and I was totally blown away by the guy. Totally floored -- and believe he's the kind of guy who could actually change the way the game is played.

So needless to say, I'm completely stoked about this hire -- and hope he he wants to keep Rondo.

Edit: better post
 

knucklecup

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Butler players didnt see this coming but they all have nothing but great things to say about their fearless ex-leader:

@_elijahbrown5 I would like to thank Coach Stevens for the time he invested in me and the care he showed. I wish him and his family luck with the Celtics..

@Mvolovic Want to thank Coach Stevens for the opportunity and wish him the best with the Celtics. Learned a lot under him in a short period of time.
 

DannyDarwinism

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HomeRunBaker said:
I've felt for almost 2 years that Rondo would be traded prior to hitting the open market and that Danny wouldn't overpay at this position for Rondo but this just about solidifies that. Good chance Rondo doesn't make it through Summer League as a Celtic.  If Ainge can get Drummond in return he needs to get it done now.
 
One thing i hate hearing is "college coaches don't translate to the NBA".......the NBA is a players league and a stars league, when a team is good it isn't looking to the colleges for an unproven head coach. With few exceptions, it is lottery teams (read: real bad teams) who cannot draw a top tier coach that look to the college level rather than the retreads......and the losing team continues losing (not because of the college coach but because the players suck) which then tags another "college coach" with a negative reputation.  It is a huge misnomer. 
 
Stevens has the persona of an NBA head coach. He is level headed, analytical and consistent in his actions......NBA players only react positively to the Pitino's and Skile's for a short period of time before tuning them out.  We are still going to lose a shit load of games next years but Love Love Love the move....well done Danny.  Now go get Drummond.
 
Any reason to think this is possible?  I know the Pistons have expressed interest, but the kid just put up 14/13 per 36 (and 2.8 blocks) as a 19 year old, I would've thought he's close to untouchable.
 
But count me among the unanimous who think Stevens is a fantastic choice.
 
Dec 10, 2012
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I'm with knuckecup and and RedO on this one. There's no person in college basketball in the last 10 years, player or coach, or other, who I admire more than Brad.  I think he has the right kind of personality to succeed in the pros, as an-ex NCAA coach.  And he's pretty close to perfect for development.
 
 
My bewilderment at the KG/Pierce trade is tempered. This is gonna be fun. There is no downside, only upside potential.   
 
Dec 10, 2012
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riboflav said:
Not saying he won't. But, there is a difference between having to do interviews almost every day for six months versus only doing them on occasion.
 
For the record, I think Stevens is severely competitive and can handle pressure very well. Just saying it will be a far greater challenge in Boston than what he's faced thus far.
I dunno, FF final in Indy v. Duke is pretty challenging.
 

lostjumper

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Love it. Going with someone new instead of a retread, obviously he and Ainge are going into this knowing its going to be a rebuilding process and this will give him a few years to figure out the NBA. From what little I saw of the college game, he seemed like a really smart guy. 
 

DannyDarwinism

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What's Shelvin Mack doing these days?  He's not a guy with a future on a contending NBA team, but definitely someone I could root for on a rebuilding squad.
 
Dec 10, 2012
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DannyDarwinism said:
What's Shelvin Mack doing these days?  He's not a guy with a future on a contending NBA team, but definitely someone I could root for on a rebuilding squad.
 
NBDLAll Star then Hawks.
 
I also would love to see Hayward as a possible Pierce "replacement" if we can pry him from the Jazz for 1 or 2 of the post-2015 picks.
 

Scoops Bolling

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This was the kind of move I was really hoping the Celtics would make. Guess he and Ainge must have really hit it off.
 

HomeRunBaker

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DannyDarwinism said:
Any reason to think this is possible?  I know the Pistons have expressed interest, but the kid just put up 14/13 per 36 (and 2.8 blocks) as a 19 year old, I would've thought he's close to untouchable.
 
But count me among the unanimous who think Stevens is a fantastic choice.
 
 
Yes, i have a theory. Detroit contacted Josh Smith as soon as the clock hit midnight and we all know Smith has made no qualms in his desire to play with his old Oak Hill buddy Rondo......and Detroit also contacted Ainge about Rondo.  If they were able to pull off Smith if Rondo is here the team is clearly playing a hand to win now in which case Monroe is more valuable to them than Drummond who showed immense promise last year as an 18-year old rookie but is years away from being a reliable starting 5 on a playoff team. 
 
I doubt Detroit does this straight up but we have tons of future picks we can throw in. It's a theory and a dream but Drummond has a chance to be something very special.
 

bankshot1

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I think this hire speaks to a serious rebuild mode, weighted towards draft choices and a less relaince on vets.FAs.I  thought the hire was going to be an asst NBA coach as interim step as the team rebuilt/stunk over the next 2-3 years. .I'm surprised by the visibility of the hire. 
 
I wonder if Larry Legend had some kinds words and advice for Danny about his Indy neighbor? 
 

DJnVa

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Article on Stevens and his stats guru:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-college-basketball-mens-tournament/news/20130320/drew-cannon-butler/
 
Stevens, a longtime proponent of advanced statistical metrics, said if he had unlimited resources he would create his own statistics division.
 
Well, it's not unlimited, but it's likely more than he had at Butler.
 
 
Cannon's greatest value is with lineup analysis, as Stevens terms his work "unreal." "It includes every player, pairs of players, groups of three, big lineups, small lineups, etc.," Stevens said. Cannon will also include the offensive and defensive efficiency of Butler's players from previous matchups with an opponent, which Stevens said, "Will help me determine probable sub patterns, late game lineups, etc."
 
That makes me giddy.
 
Bring the kid on board.
 
At age 8, he swiped his father's Bill James books and devoured them.
https://twitter.com/DrewCannon1
 

CouchsideSteve

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Count me among those who think this is a great hire for a team in full-on rebuild mode.
 
Not sure that this has any real implications for Rondo's future with the team - he's going to be back for the start of the season to prove he's healthy coming off knee surgery, at which point I expect they'll explore a mid-season trade.
 

Moosey

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Completely a "me too!" post but holy crap I am stunned and elated.  Love what his Butler teams have done.
 

allaboutthesox

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bball831 said:
I love this move. No retreads. Fresh young blood to build a team and coach young guys. Fantastic.
 
Complete shock move, but I absolutely like this move.  I think he knows what he is getting into.  I just hope Ainge and the ownership give him time to build this thing.  I am assuming that was covered during the negotiations as well.  Really looking forward to this upcoming season now, regardless of the roster. 
 
This a fresh move for a fresh team and a fresh direction.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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RedOctober3829 said:
Stevens is exactly the kind of guy I wanted for this job. He's innovative, a tireless worker, a proven leader, and a developer of talent. He's the perfect guy for the job. Just didn't think he'd leave college. There's literally no downside with Brad.
 
Tim Floyd says "hi."
 
I'm most interested in knowing why Stevens chose the Cs.  The Cs are a lot closer to being in perpetual 35-40 win purgatory (which always results in a coach firing) than being contenders.  If I had the pick of jobs, the Cs is not one I would have chosen, except for perhaps out of a hat.
 
I haven't been able to follow the coach thread, but Brett Brown intrigued me if at least to give some glimpse as to how the Spurs do things.
 
One thing Stevens will have to adjust to - lack of practice time.  It's my understanding that is the biggest thing for college coaches to get used to.
 

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The Boston Celtics signed Brad Stevens to a six year, $22 million contract, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
 

smokin joe wood

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I've sat through a few dozen of Stevens' practices and they are the most organized and detailed of any coach I've ever covered. The only coach I've ever seen close is Gus Malzahn. 
 
I'm extremely interested to see who he hires on his staff. He has a relationship with Kevin Eastman who just left for LA. His analytical style probably fits the longer season and longer-form playoffs. 
 
He refused to 'grease the wheels' at Butler to get blue chip recruits and I could see him being frustrated by the college game and seeing a glass ceiling as a 'clean' recruiter. 
 

radsoxfan

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SoxScout said:
 

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
The Boston Celtics signed Brad Stevens to a six year, $22 million contract, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
 
 
So for what we were going to pay Doc to rebuild for 3 years, we get Stevens to rebuild and hopefully contend for 6 years.  Plus a 1st round pick.
 
Great move by Danny.
 

knucklecup

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radsoxfan said:
 
 
So for what we were going to pay Doc to rebuild for 3 years, we get Stevens to rebuild and hopefully contend for 6 years.  Plus a 1st round pick.
 
Great move by Danny.
This can't be said enough. Doc was a great fit for the KG, Pierce, Ray teams but he's really not that great of an X's and O's coach, and this whole situation couldn't have worked out better for the C's.

@ESPNAndyKatz Just talked to coach K (more to come) on Brad Stevens to the Celtics: "Forget about young coaches, I think he's one of the best coaches."
 

HomeRunBaker

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CouchsideSteve said:
Count me among those who think this is a great hire for a team in full-on rebuild mode.
 
Not sure that this has any real implications for Rondo's future with the team - he's going to be back for the start of the season to prove he's healthy coming off knee surgery, at which point I expect they'll explore a mid-season trade.
 
I will be surprised if Rondo is ready for Opening Night only 10 months following ACL surgery.  I've heard it was not a full repair like Rose's so it's possible i suppose (radsox will know more about this) but that may be one of the quickest, if not quickest, return for an NBA player following this repair.
 

RedOctober3829

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</p>
HomeRunBaker said:
 
I will be surprised if Rondo is ready for Opening Night only 10 months following ACL surgery.  I've heard it was not a full repair like Rose's so it's possible i suppose (radsox will know more about this) but that may be one of the quickest, if not quickest, return for an NBA player following this repair.
<p>

Um, Iman Shumpert tore his ACL in May and returned in mid-January.
 

HomeRunBaker

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smokin joe wood said:
I've sat through a few dozen of Stevens' practices and they are the most organized and detailed of any coach I've ever covered. The only coach I've ever seen close is Gus Malzahn. 
 
I'm extremely interested to see who he hires on his staff. He has a relationship with Kevin Eastman who just left for LA. His analytical style probably fits the longer season and longer-form playoffs. 
 
He refused to 'grease the wheels' at Butler to get blue chip recruits and I could see him being frustrated by the college game and seeing a glass ceiling as a 'clean' recruiter. 
 
Larranaga is Ainge's guy who is already here and running our summer league team so i'd assume he's staying. I'd expect to add an open-minded veteran former head coach to the staff.......someone similar to a Carlesimo or Bob Hill, who can help acclimate him to the NBA sets that teams utilize as well as planning with all the travel and lack of practice time, etc.
 

radsoxfan

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HomeRunBaker said:
I will be surprised if Rondo is ready for Opening Night only 10 months following ACL surgery.  I've heard it was not a full repair like Rose's so it's possible i suppose (radsox will know more about this) but that may be one of the quickest, if not quickest, return for an NBA player following this repair.
 
10 months is actually fairly standard (325 days on average to be exact according to one study).  Hard to know how the "partial tear" affects things without more details, but he likely still had an ACL reconstruction and will go through the standard rehab, so I doubt much.
 
I wouldn't use Rose's post-op course as any sort of benchmark.  It was clear the last few months he needed a psychiatrist more than an orthopedist.  His reaction to his reconstructed ACL towards the end was most consistent with anxiety and apprehension of re-injury, not the need for more rehab.  
 
An interesting article on ACL tears and return to performance in the NBA (don't read if you hate PER)
 
http://ohiouat.com/ACLNBA.pdf
 
From the article: "The reconstructed players’ mean age was 25.7 years, with a mean of 3.6 seasons of NBA experience before injury (Table 2). Players who returned to league competition averaged 325 +/-  81 days between the onset of injury and return to the first regulation game (range, 204 to 466 days). 
 

HomeRunBaker

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RedOctober3829 said:
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<p>

Um, Iman Shumpert tore his ACL in May and returned in mid-January.
 
Right. I remember Bonzi Wells returned like 6 months following his surgery so all players (and the injury) are different........and now that i've put more than 8 seconds of thought into it i do agree now that i think of it that 8-9 months is about the average.  I certainly don't see us or wherever he is on Opening Day rushing Rondo back......us because we don't need him with this direction or the team he's traded to as they just made an investment and want to be sure he's 100%.
 
edit: Yup, what rad said.
 
edit2: GREAT link!!!
 

mikeot

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This is very exciting ... Someone here talked about how they hated the Rivers/Pierce/KG moves now but expected to love it in two.  My sentiments too, up to today, that is.  Remains to be seen how Stevens and Rondo will gel, but with a six-year deal Danny is saying this will be Stevens' team.  
 

Brickowski

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Well, I wanted Ainge to think out of the box and he did.  Interesting hire.  And if Stephens doesn't work out with the Celtics, he can always get a job in Kendall Square.
 

JimBoSox9

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Well, I wanted Ainge to think out of the box and he did. Interesting hire. And if Stephens doesn't work out with the Celtics, he can always get a job in Durham.



FTFY
 

page 2 protege

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As has been said above, Stevens wasn't a guy who was big on recruiting, he's a coach that develops talent, so i can see that as being one of the reasons he chose the Celtics as they are entering their own development stage and he gets the chance to mold them how he sees fit. Since the Celtics are a team with a pretty reputable name I would think recruiting isn't going to be a big focus of his job, rather the X's and O's which he's pretty good at.
 

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page 2 protege said:
As has been said above, Stevens wasn't a guy who was big on recruiting, he's a coach that develops talent, so i can see that as being one of the reasons he chose the Celtics as they are entering their own development stage and he gets the chance to mold them how he sees fit. Since the Celtics are a team with a pretty reputable name I would think recruiting isn't going to be a big focus of his job, rather the X's and O's which he's pretty good at.
 
This was my thought. And most of the players the Celtics will care about in the future will be fresh out of college anyway. :)
 
Even if he ends up sucking(not that I think he will, but as a worst case)....it still helps the rebuilding. Really, nothing to hate about this move.
 

Soxy

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I think it's far more than the Celtics brand that attracted Stevens, though I can understand why that would be a popular narrative (which the media is already running with).  I mean, the guy turned down frickin' UCLA, who are basically the Boston Celtics of the NCAA.
 
While that certainly has something to do with it, Stevens seems like an extremely intelligent, thoughtful dude.  I don't think he would make this leap if he wasn't on the same page with Ainge/ownership and felt like they were all pulling on the same rope and sharing the same long-term vision for the club.  IOW, I think the reasons why the Celtics were pursuing him, and why they felt he was a good fit, were probably just as important (if not more important) to Stevens than simply the fact that this is the Boston Fucking Celtics.
 
The long, rich, storied tradition certainly doesn't hurt, but having a forward-thinking, analytically minded franchise backing up that tradition had to play a large role in this.  At least, I would assume that to be the case.  Continuing the Theo example that was brought up earlier (which seems pretty apt to me), I'm not sure Theo would've made that leap without having a John Henry-type running the show.  Same deal here with Wyc and Ainge.  The iconic brand gets you in the door, but the overriding philosophy of the franchise is probably what sealed the deal for Stevens.  Which is, like, wicked fucking exciting.  Because everything I've read about Stevens makes me think that this is a guy that straight up fucking gets it.  He sees the big picture and takes the long view.  He's rational, methodical, meticulous.  He knows that the process is, in the short term, more important than results.  And that if the process is sound, then the results will eventually come.  
 
I'm pretty ecstatic about this hire.  Now they just need to accumulate talent and get them to buy in to what Stevens and his staff are selling.  (It sounds so easy when I phrase it like that.)
 

RedOctober3829

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Soxy Brown said:
I think it's far more than the Celtics brand that attracted Stevens, though I can understand why that would be a popular narrative (which the media is already running with).  I mean, the guy turned down frickin' UCLA, who are basically the Boston Celtics of the NCAA.
 
While that certainly has something to do with it, Stevens seems like an extremely intelligent, thoughtful dude.  I don't think he would make this leap if he wasn't on the same page with Ainge/ownership and felt like they were all pulling on the same rope and sharing the same long-term vision for the club.  IOW, I think the reasons why the Celtics were pursuing him, and why they felt he was a good fit, were probably just as important (if not more important) to Stevens than simply the fact that this is the Boston Fucking Celtics.
 
The long, rich, storied tradition certainly doesn't hurt, but having a forward-thinking, analytically minded franchise backing up that tradition had to play a large role in this.  At least, I would assume that to be the case.  Continuing the Theo example that was brought up earlier (which seems pretty apt to me), I'm not sure Theo would've made that leap without having a John Henry-type running the show.  Same deal here with Wyc and Ainge.  The iconic brand gets you in the door, but the overriding philosophy of the franchise is probably what sealed the deal for Stevens.  Which is, like, wicked fucking exciting.  Because everything I've read about Stevens makes me think that this is a guy that straight up fucking gets it.  He sees the big picture and takes the long view.  He's rational, methodical, meticulous.  He knows that the process is, in the short term, more important than results.  And that if the process is sound, then the results will eventually come.  
 
I'm pretty ecstatic about this hire.  Now they just need to accumulate talent and get them to buy in to what Stevens and his staff are selling.  (It sounds so easy when I phrase it like that.)
Great post. All the things listed here are exactly why Brad Stevens is a perfect fit.
 

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Soxy Brown said:
Because everything I've read about Stevens makes me think that this is a guy that straight up fucking gets it.  
I've been searching for the words to sum up why I am stoked about Brad Stevens, and this says it eloquently enough.
 

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If Sportsguy33 tweets and nobody is there to respond, does it make a sound?
 
Anyhow, I think Soxy nails it.  In the Doc thread, there is mention of the Celtics looking for their "Popovich".   They may well have found him.   How could anyone not like this hire given what the team is trying to accomplish?
 

oumbi

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Great, great choice by Ainge. And though it was a shocker to me, Ainge must have been mulling over something like this for a while now.
 
Wednesday, November 21 2012

Aran Smith: Brad Stevens may have more than NCAA suitors in near future. After UNC win, Danny Ainge grabbed him as he left the floor to speak for a min.
 

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riboflav said:
Stevens is everything the Boston media hates. Quiet, even-tempered, not a cheerleader, way into advanced metrics, young, unproven at the professional level... This should be a fun ride.
 
Nailed.
 
And more inspired, bold leadership from Ainge.  Quite a shit sandwich for the local talking heads.
 

Toe Nash

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Yeah, the media has been absolutely brutal to John Farrell, haven't they?

When folks say the media hates quiet, even tempered folks (whether Stevens is quiet, I don't know), who are they thinking of?
 
Belichick. W/r/t not giving much info in press conferences and not emoting on the sideline they seem similar. Hopefully Stevens can approach BB's success on the field.
 
Certain members of the press were pretty brutal to Francona at the end, who is about the most thoughtful, even-keeled guy I can think of -- and he even gave good press conferences.
 
If the Cs struggle there will be mediots who criticize Stevens, especially if he uses strategies that are outside the box (though the dynamic is different given the lower expectations and the draft pick benefit of being bad). Fortunately it doesn't seem like he or anyone with the team cares.
 
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