I didn't see this posted earlier and thought it was worth an OT thread. This is the biggest surprise to me of the NBA offseason so far, and second isn't even close. Butler's coach is now the head coach of one of the most storied teams in US sports' history, and he does it with zero NBA coaching experience. Wow. I can't be the only one shocked by this hire.
I'm more shocked that Stevens accepted this job. Everyone figured he was holding out for Coach K to retire, or some sort of job opening with programs like UNC/Kentucky/Indiana/Kansas. Hell, the guy's turned down every great NCAA job from UCLA to Illinois over the last three years to stay at Butler. I know it's a prestigious position, but it's also very unwelcoming for a coach making the NCAA/NBA transition. Not only is the roster set up for the lottery, but Ainge keeps talking out of his ass about how the team still plans on contending next season. I wonder how Boston fans will take it when they win 20 games next season... that's a lot of pressure for a 36 year old college coach.
Stevens signed an extension with Butler a few months ago to 2022. Now he signs with Boston for 6 years, $22M. Ainge will owe him a lot when he fires the college coach in 2 years.
I feel for the guy and hope that Ainge and the fanbase have patience with him... this has all the undertones of Rick Pitino 2.0. I know that the Celtics job is very high profile, but the timing might wind up being horrible for Stevens. If he wanted to go into the pro's, then why not interview for the Clippers job, the Brooklyn job, the Denver job, the Memphis job, etc.? The guy was offered all the best college jobs and turned them job over the last three or four years, so why not be just as selective when it comes to NBA opportunities?
6 years/$22 million is a joke for an NBA coach, especially with the Celtics. Ainge must be going completely with young guys once Rondo is traded, and thinks having a coach used to young guys will help. Either that, or this is the most obviously tank job in the NBA since Ainge tanked for Oden, which didn't work anyhow, but led to the big trade for Garnett and Allen.
What's the average salary of an NBA coach? The Grizz just signed Joerger on for a four-year deal starting at $1.5 mill. I was actually really surprised when I heard that Rivers was making $7 mill a year, but then again, Lawrence Frank just got signed on as an assistant for $1 mill. Does anyone have a list of head coaching salaries? That's something that I've never really considered... I just sorta figured they all made between $1-3 mill a year. Anyway, Dana O'Neil has a good column on ESPN about the Stevens hire, from a college basketball perspective - http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...bulldogs-blow-college-game-college-basketball
Pitino had his assistants be lookouts while he banged a chick inside a Hooters, then gave her money to get an abortion. I do not know Brad personally but think he might be wired a bit differently. Count me with the shocked and hats off to Ainge. While I am not a fan of him blatantly lying about tanking, he got an unprotected first out of the Clippers for his head coach then replaced him with one hell of a coach. He has turned down countless big college jobs and Ainge did the right things to get him to accept. I do not see any downside in this hire since the lottery rewards losing and the same top programs will have open arms if it fails. He could be special though and would have loved to have him over Stotts.
One of the few times I agree with you completely. Doc was about to get fired when they traded for Garnett and Allen. It all comes down to talent. I don't care how good they think Stevens is, he has two years to win. Then the fans and players will blame the coach whether he deserves it or not. But that is OK he will still get paid and will get another gig.
I posted about this in the offseason thread. First of all I think Stevens is a great coach, his in-game adjustments and defining roles is what makes him so great and he's got tons of room to improve as he's just 30 something. I'm glad my dude Olynyk is going to have a guy that he went against in college as his head coach. Great hire.
They don't plan on contending next year, he's just not the type of guy who is going to tell the media that he's going to tank. If they get a top pick next year to along with Rondo, Bradley, Olynyk, Sullinger, Jordan Crawford. Thats a pretty good young team. Two stars in Rondo/Wiggins or Randle or Parker and the possibility of Olynyk as well.
wait, you want him to admit to tanking publicly? That would be a great idea. He's already been banned by the league from making deals with the Clippers, might as well tell everybody he's trying to lose games on purpose to get a better pick. That way Stern can take his draft pick away.
Do you like answering your own questions then ranting about your answer? Ainge could admit a rebuild and just leave it at that.
Ok so he admits to a rebuild publicly and gives leverage to the teams he's trying to unload some of his players on.
I think Rondo is a good enough player to make them competitive for the 8 seed in the god awful Eastern conference. If Ainge is admittedly tanking, teams will be well aware that he has to unload Rondo. The offers will all be 50 cents on the dollar. He has no choice but to pretend like he's trying to put together a competitive team if he wants to negotiate a fair deal for the assets he currently has. Expecting him to be honest about his plans is like expecting a car salesman to tell you everything that's wrong with a car and letting you know how low he's willing to drop the price before you even start negotiating with him.
Rondo will be out for awhile. There is no rush to unload him. I think he is the perfect asset for the Celtics since he will be out most of the year, but should return at a high level in 2014-15. Even with Pierce and KG, they finished one game over 500. Losing both of them plus most if not all of the season with Rondo out is going to put the Celtics well out of the playoff race. The car salesman comparison is off as well because a car salesman is not selling tickets for people to watch his cars. A GM is not going to trade for Rondo using the Costco negotiated priced either. I expect to know what I am buying and that the price is reflective of any flaws. I do not expect the car salesman to volunteer that he needs to sell one more car for a bonus or that inventory is too large though.
funny that you say Rondo will be out a while and then a report comes out the next day saying he won't miss a game. http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/ainge-expects-rondo-be-ready-opener but yeah, you know what you're talking about, right?
