3 assistants the Boston Celtics should add to Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff

Days after Brad Stevens said he wanted experience on Joe Mazzulla’s Boston Celtics coaching staff, he went out and go it, but what is next?

Of the seven coaches that were on the Boston Celtics staff during the 2022 NBA Finals run, only two remain standing. According to reports from the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, Ime Udoka has taken three of the C’s coaches, Aaron Miles, Ben Sullivan, and Mike Moser as he seeks to rebuild the Houston Rockets back into a competent basketball team.

Stevens made the first step on Sunday evening by hiring Sam Cassell as one of Joe Mazzulla’s assistants, but there is still work to do in order to assemble a quality staff ahead of another crack at an NBA title. Looking at the Boston Celtics coaching staff at this point in time, there are two, maybe three spots up for grabs. There are other things on the plate of the Cs right now, but putting the right kind of people around Mazzulla is vitally important to the ceiling of this ball club going forward.

Here are 3 assistant coaches Brad Stevens should consider for Joe Mazzulla’s Boston Celtics coaching staff

No. 1: Josh Longstaff, Chicago Bulls

Born in New England, Longstaff played his college basketball in Rhode Island with Bryant University. The current assistant for the Bulls under Billy Donovan has had a remarkable journey into coaching in the most prestigious basketball league in the world. He was a two-time captain at Portland High School in Maine, earning a first-time All-State selection and propelling his school to a state title in 1998. For the Bulldogs, Longstaff was mostly used as a depth piece, but his desire to put in max effort during games and practices did not go unnoticed.

After a few seasons back up in his home state coaching for both Portland as an assistant and Gorham High School as a head man for two years, Longstaff jumped right into the pro game. He joined one of his former Bryant coaches, Brian Keefe on the staff of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He served as the video analyst and player development coach for the Thunder in his final three seasons before moving to New York where he was promoted to a full-time assistant quickly after being hired. During his time in the Big Apple, the Portland native worked under three different head coaches including Derek Fisher. Longstaff then moved to Erie, Michigan where he headed a G-League ball club, the Erie BayHawks, now the Birmingham Squadron to a Conference Finals appearance where they lost to the defending league champions, Raptors 905. Since 2018, the Maine native has worked for two teams in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.

Longstaff could return back home to New England where it all began. It is nearly the perfect addition. A native of the area with 13 years of coaching experience in both the association and the G-League, Longstaff has been around the block more than once, and with his connections to the region, this has to be someone Stevens should contact for a position on Mazzulla’s staff.