Buddy of mine in Indy says there is ton of chatter about IU going after Stevens, when the inevitable Archie Miller firing happens in a month.
Is it time to talk about Coach Brad?
- Thread starter Deathofthebambino
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Deja vu all over again with the Hoosiers job. The timing for both Brad and the Celtics is much better this time around I will say that.
Yep inevitable. Unless they can get Underwood to hop ship in conference he’s probably their #1 target.
Has a reasonably successful NBA coach ever jumped back to College? All the examples I know of are guys who flopped in the NBA.
Are there any recent-ish examples of established, successful currently employed NBA coaches leaving to go to a college program?
Stevens is the fifth longest tenured coach in the NBA which just feels wrong but its correct so he is clearly established. I think some of our members and some Celtics fans may question the successful part. Stevens hasn't won a championship yet and there are people who are worried that he isn't capable of getting the team over the hump. College sports is filthy and a lot more marketing than the NBA so its hard to see Stevens making that leap though the geography makes it interesting. The risk for the Cs is that another good NBA franchise lures him away.
You can win a championship elsewhere and still have fewer people carrying around long standing resentments about time out usage and not yelling at the ref more on camera.
Gotta believe the overwhelmingly majority of NBA coaches who previously worked at the college level don't miss recruiting one bit.
I can’t think of any off the top of my head but it has only been fairly recently where collegiate programs can offer competitive pay. Isn’t Calipari at $10m or something like that? I don’t think Brad not having a comp would prevent Indiana from pursuing Brad though.
Didn't Stevens sign an extension last summer?
https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/sports/pro/2020/08/12/brad-stevens-receives-contract-extension-from-celtics/42903495/
So no chance he can go to another NBA team. I guess the Celtics could release him for a dream NCAA job, but they don't have any incentive to do that now.
https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/sports/pro/2020/08/12/brad-stevens-receives-contract-extension-from-celtics/42903495/
So no chance he can go to another NBA team. I guess the Celtics could release him for a dream NCAA job, but they don't have any incentive to do that now.
Even if he couldn't, if that's what he wanted, the C's wouldn't prevent him from doing it. Who wants a miserable coach?
How did this morph into Brad wanting a different NBA job? That would require a release from the Celtics and likely compensation from the acquiring team. Unless there is a “unique” clause in his current deal he can simply walk away, pay a buyout if there is one in his deal, and sign with the Hoosiers
Is being the coach of IU really a favorable situation at this point? You have sky-high expectations but it's pretty tough to compete in Bloomington IN, and you have a legend in the background still. I think part of Brad's calculus all along has been that is not a job you want, at least not soon.
There are a few of these jobs in college sports I think are really , really tough to meet expectations which are grounded in a past way of recruiting/playing---Nebraska football, to a good degree Notre Dame football, whoever is next at Duke basketball, UCLA basketball come to mind.
There are a few of these jobs in college sports I think are really , really tough to meet expectations which are grounded in a past way of recruiting/playing---Nebraska football, to a good degree Notre Dame football, whoever is next at Duke basketball, UCLA basketball come to mind.
Yeah, it's basically like UT football. Great, you're hired! Ok, now where are my 11 win seasons? I know Brad has a connection to the Hoosier state but you don't give up being head coach of the Celtics with Brown/Tatum entering their primes in a couple years so you can hope to make the Sweet 16 with IU. Only way a move like that makes sense is if it's a family-driven or personal decision. The money will be great either way so why not keep going for a few years with a team that has real promise?
In short, I could see a move like this in 3-4 years but not now.
It’s a top job due to the pay associated with it. Look at the deals with the buyouts that Crean and Archie had.
I think this is spot on. You are expected to be competing for a national championship, meanwhile your program has not been to the Final Four in 30 years. Consistent trips to the Sweet 16 was not enough to keep Tom Crean employed. The program has a very limited track record of putting guys into the league: Cody Zeller, Dipo, Langford! and.... Yogi Farrel? You can't sell Bloomington's diversity or climate to potential recruits.
Crean missed the NCAA tournament 5 out of his 9 years in Bloomington. You aren’t incorrect that the goal each year is to compete for a National Championship but when you can’t even make the tournament most years you aren’t long for the job.
Stevens is paid more than Archie Miller was, so while relative to college it might be well-paid it doesn't seem likely Stevens would go there for the money.
Given his current salary, NBA success, and ability to monetize the NCAA basically whenever he wants, I’d be shocked if Stevens left before seeing how the Brown+Tatum prime plays out.
If things go belly-up in the next 4 years, I could see him going back to the NCAA, but I think more likely would be him getting a huge offer from another NBA franchise.
If things go belly-up in the next 4 years, I could see him going back to the NCAA, but I think more likely would be him getting a huge offer from another NBA franchise.
View: https://twitter.com/greggdoyelstar/status/1371553259001888768?
I wish I had this Amount of FU money that I could write a check to my alma mater to tell the current coach to fuck off
I wish I had this Amount of FU money that I could write a check to my alma mater to tell the current coach to fuck off
On another note. One of these “boosters” has to be Cuban doesn’t it?
After another loss to a one of the worst teams in the NBA, do Ainge and the owners even consider firing Stevens? I don't mean because of this loss in particular, of course. Does it even cross their mind as an option? Or is there a shared view that the problems of this team are a result of a variety of factors, and coaching is not one of the main ones, or is not a factor at all? Or a minor factor?
And do the owners ever look at Ainge and consider letting him go?
I'm guessing that they are all in it for the long haul and Ainge and Stevens are seen positively enough by the ownership group so as to avoid reactionary moves. But from my perspective, the team is not deep enough (which is on Ainge) and they are the talent they do have should be performing better on the court (which is on the players and the coaches). So while I would not be quick with the trigger, I would be at least thinking about whether a move made sense.
And do the owners ever look at Ainge and consider letting him go?
I'm guessing that they are all in it for the long haul and Ainge and Stevens are seen positively enough by the ownership group so as to avoid reactionary moves. But from my perspective, the team is not deep enough (which is on Ainge) and they are the talent they do have should be performing better on the court (which is on the players and the coaches). So while I would not be quick with the trigger, I would be at least thinking about whether a move made sense.
Brad is 100% safe from firing but they're sitting here at 20-20 so he needs to own a good chunk of the criticism along with the players. This isn't a .500 team in terms of talent. But they're playing like a .500 team in terms of execution. Much of the problem is roster construction so Ainge doesn't come out unscathed either. This is going to be a big summer. Either Ainge delivers or we may just need to lower our expectations for this group.
No and No.
Don't forget, this is a crazy year with COVID and the Cs have a super-young team (when I checked in the pre-season, the youngest of those teams with championship aspirations). Youth doesn't really win in the NBA, despite all efforts.
Ha, never said "high" expectations but I'm lowering even my modest expectations until I see some material improvement.
It's been said before, but if anyone deserves to be fired... it's the guy who put the roster together.
I don’t disagree that Ainge has to be feeling the heat from Wyc and Co. I wonder how many times he strolls into Wyc’s office with his big shitty ass grin reminding him about how awesome it was that they drafted two All-Stars over the last five years.
It is kind of telling though that we are 40 games into a bizaare season and people are calling for the head of the coach and GM who made 3 of the last 4 conference finals.
I mean, this is a team with maybe 1 All-NBA caliber player (and that's 3rd team probably), it has consistently overachieved, and now that it finally is having a down year people are up in arms. Probably 25 plus teams would kill to have the success Ainge and Stevens have. If either were fired he'd have a premium job tomorrow.
Yes a bunch of chances went sideways, yes the roster needs tweaking, but on the whole, it has been a very good run and the first sign of even modest adversity suddenly has people running for the exits?
I mean, this is a team with maybe 1 All-NBA caliber player (and that's 3rd team probably), it has consistently overachieved, and now that it finally is having a down year people are up in arms. Probably 25 plus teams would kill to have the success Ainge and Stevens have. If either were fired he'd have a premium job tomorrow.
Yes a bunch of chances went sideways, yes the roster needs tweaking, but on the whole, it has been a very good run and the first sign of even modest adversity suddenly has people running for the exits?
I'm not calling for anyone to get fired. Ainge is far more responsible for this dreck than BS though.
And it's not even close to the first season. Did you forget about Kyrie or something?
And it's not even close to the first season. Did you forget about Kyrie or something?
I meant it more generally. That it's insane for a team that is 20-20 after going to 3 of the last 4 ECF to have a fanbase engaged in discussions about whether the Coach and/or GM need to go. Maybe it's the dumb, title or tank mentality, but this is still clearly one of the best setups in the league, and it is that solely because of the GM and Coach's work over the last 6 years. We aren't some LA style destination, they cobbled together borderline contenders out of scraps.
Toronto fired their coach who just won CotY. What have you done for me lately? Ainge has done anything well since he drafted Tatum. Some of it is just bad luck, but it is what it is.
I mean sure, after he had another underperformance in the playoffs (also COTY is a joke).
Depends what kind of team he has. If he makes 7 straight ECFs without ever having multiple top players... probably not. I mean, talent wins in the NBA, and if your coach generally gets you to outperform your talent you should keep him.
Got it. I'm not advocating for Stevens to be fired or anything but nothing should be off the table for this franchise. We're obviously not there yet but sometimes a very good coach simply reaches the limits of what he can do with a roster or core players. Or sometimes players force the issue. If Brad is calling great plays and Tatum is ignoring them to go full 2006 Kobe, then we have a problem. I'll be very interested to see how this season ends. My larger concern is that Tatum/Brown start tuning him out. No real evidence of that yet but this is the NBA and star players can get moody real fast if they perceive things as deteriorating or not improving.
The onus is really on Ainge to deliver.
He's had multiple top players. People simultaneously talk about how great the C's are while also down talking the roster. It's funny. The C's have not overperformed the last few years. They performed as expected. The only year you can argue they overperformed was the IT year.
Yeah, my point wasn't that neither of them should eventually be on the hot seat, it was that it's way too soon for that given their recent successes and the truly bizaare nature of this season.
I think you could argue they either performed to expectations or overperformed, but they have never really (except the Kyrie year ironically) had multiple TOP players. They've had good players, they've even had multiple all-stars, but they have never had even one elite player, and usually you can't make the Finals without at least one.