Once the final buzzer sounded in Game 5 of their first-round gentleman’s sweep against the Brooklyn Nets, fans and analysts alike all presumed that the Boston Celtics would be embarking on an offseason filled with the potential to be quite busy.
That said, even with this idea in mind, no one could have foreseen what has already happened.
Less than 24 hours into their 2021 offseason, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Danny Ainge would step down from his General Manager and President of Basketball Operations duties, and Brad Stevens would go on to replace him in the latter role.
Ainge has been contemplating leaving the job for several months and had been talking about possible succession plans with ownership, sources tell ESPN. Stevens turns out to be the franchise's choice. Ainge also moved from head coaching in the NBA to the front office with Phoenix.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2021
With this, the Cs, who once had such a bright future ahead of them due to their front office executions, have nothing but an early-round exit and two key vacancies to show for it.
Now, with the fact that Stevens is heading to his new role as President of Basketball Operations, one of the first priorities for this franchise is to find a successor for him at the Head Coach position.
Whilst in the midst of the 2020-21 campaign, when it was rumored that the eighth-year head man was considering leaving the Boston Celtics for the newly opened Indiana University gig, we at HH discussed a few options that could come in and replace him at the helm.
With this new news of him actually leaving his role, of course we’re bound to step back into this conversation and present new (on old) options for them to consider.
Already, two names have surfaced as possible candidates to take over coaching duties for the Boston Celtics in Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd and former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce.