Brad

Stevens

This news is hardly a surprise given Stevens’ position as the architect of a potential Celtics dynasty. The 48-year-old Stevens has college coaching experience, though, as he was the head coach at Butler for seven years before leaving to coach the Celtics in 2013. Butler made the Final Four twice under Stevens, who moved into Boston’s front office after the 2021 season. He was NBA Executive of the Year in 2024.

“I think that [last year’s] performance was a bit overrated,” Grousbeck said. "[We were] a finalist and two wins away from winning it, but when you look back, Brooklyn was a tough series, and then we had to go seven games [against the Bucks and Heat] ... We’re not a hands-down team to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. I think we’re a quality team.” He praised team president Brad Stevens’ efforts to improve the roster this offseason, saying he “boiled the ocean ... did everything he could think of to make us better,” and added that Stevens has a “green light” to spend more than $200 million to construct the roster. Grousbeck may think his team is currently “overrated,” but he’s willing to spend freely to justify the expectations.

If anyone is uniquely positioned to know which strengths are required for the Celtics’ vacancy, it’s newly-minted president of operations Brad Stevens. All three candidates are former players and current coaching assistants for the Nets, Bucks and Clippers, respectively. There are other candidates still under consideration, with Udoka, Ham and Billups described as “among the prominent candidates left in the search.”

Stevens will now be tasked with leading the search for a new head coach in Boston. Reports have surfaced that Ainge has been contemplating stepping down from his front office role for several months, and with his decision now being official, Stevens was the man that the franchise wanted to step into that role. Stevens had reportedly become worn down with coaching since the NBA Bubble and welcomed the transition to the front office according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Ainge, interestingly enough, also transitioned from head coach to the front office in Phoenix back in 1999.

The Magic did not travel to Boston which leaves it unclear if the teams will play on Friday. They were scheduled for a rematch, also in Boston, but the Celtics currently don’t have the required eight active players. Postponements are occurring at a daily rate and all fantasy managers can do is start their active players and hope everyone stays healthy. These are unprecedented times, but the league is implementing new, stricter COVID protocols to minimize positive tests and potential exposure.

Shams reported that a Heat player returned an inconclusive test and that team doesn’t have the required eight minimum players to play the game. The Celtics were already missing half their team including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, so this seems like the right move by Adam Silver. And though the league is in a tough place right now with countless players sidelined due to health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that “the NBA has no plans to pause the season despite thinning rosters because of COVID-19 protocols in several places.”

“Brad is one of the most intelligent and hard-working coaches in the game today,” said Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “More importantly, his character and integrity have contributed to a culture that we all highly value here. Brad is a great teammate, and a leader people want to follow. We are honored to have him with us as we continue to pursue our next championship.” Through six-plus seasons in Boston, Stevens has compiled a winning record of 318-245.

Lawson played 12 seasons in the WNBA and won an Olympic gold medal in 2008. She’s recently been an NBA commentator for ESPN and the Wizards, and will become the fourth female assistant coach in the NBA, joining Becky Hammon (Spurs), Jenny Boucek (Mavs) and Lindsay Gottlieb (Cavs).

“There is no other coach I would rather have than Brad Stevens. He’s the best,” said Ainge. “He’s the least of our worries.” The Celtics had an up-and-down here, but it’s tough to blame Stevens for their lackluster year. Since joining the Celtics in 2013, Stevens has compiled a winning record of 270-222.

This is the fourth and final preseason contest for the Celtics, so Stevens wants to make sure his rotation players get plenty of burn. For anybody rolling out a DFS lineup on Saturday, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford are all solid targets.