Boston Celtics: 12 candidates for the head coaching position

Outside the Box Names

Boston Celtics head coach candidate #8: Becky Hammon

Resume:
San Antonio Spurs (assistant), 2014-present

Record:
N/A

Age:
44

One day, Becky Hammon is going to get the call to become a head coach. Why not at Boston?

Hammon has been an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich at San Antonio since 2014, and she became the first woman to serve as acting head coach in an NBA game when she filled in for Pop after he was ejected during the Spurs’ December 30th contest against the Lakers. She led the Spurs’ NBA Summer League team to a Las Vegas Summer League title, becoming the first woman to do so in NBA history, and she famously has the respect of many of the NBA’s top players.

The kind of culture Popovich and Hammon have helped cultivate in San Antonio would be huge for a Boston team that has several young, still-developing talents on the roster. Her lack of true head coaching experience could be a deterrent, but Brad Stevens seems like the kind of person to look outside conventions when making a hire.

Hammon has just as high of a ceiling as some of the other former players who are currently assistant coaches who have been mentioned in this list already. She’s just as qualified, if not more so, than most of them, too.

Boston Celtics head coach candidate #9: Kara Lawson

Resume:
Duke (HC), 2020-present
Boston Celtics (assistant), 2019-20

Record:
3-1 (in college, season ended due to COVID)

Age:
40

After spending years in the broadcast booth and gaining respect and admiration by the basketball world after her playing days ended, Kara Lawson was hired by the Celtics to serve as an assistant coach under Brad Stevens. Could he turn to her to replace him now?

Lawson is in a bit of an interesting situation as it stands, though. She was hired last offseason to become the next head coach of Duke’s women’s basketball program, and the Blue Devils were off to a 3-1 start before making the decision to end their season early due to ongoing concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of that, Lawson’s debut season as head coach was cut abruptly short.

Just like with Hammon, Lawson is thought of highly in the NBA, and she has already coached with Boston once before. She worked a lot with Marcus Smart in her one year with the Celtics, and she’s had a taste of head coaching life.

Still, bringing her back to Boston may not make sense considering she just accepted the head coaching job at Duke and has only barely coached there.

Boston Celtics head coach candidate #10: Jarron Collins

Resume:
Golden State Warriors (assistant), 2014-present

Record:
N/A

Age:
42

There hasn’t been much early chatter about Jarron Collins being tied to Boston’s head coaching vacancy, but he’s one of the top names in the assistant coaching world in the NBA and is expected to get his shot as a head coach sometime soon.

Collins ended his playing career in 2011 and started working as a scout for the Clippers in 2013 as well as spending time as a college basketball analyst for Pac-12 Networks. in 2014, Golden State hired Collins as a player development coach, and he was promoted to assistant in 2015. He helped the Warriors win the 2015, 2017, and 2018 NBA Finals, and he appears ready to try his hand as a head coach.

Boston has a lot of young talent Collins could help mold, and he’s coached with some of the best shooters in the game during his time at Golden State. If Collins’ absence of head coaching experience isn’t a big deterrent, he could be a sleeper option to keep an eye on.