Celtics Rumors: Jason Kidd, Lloyd Pierce Candidates to Replace Brad Stevens as HC
The Boston Celtics reportedly already have some candidates in mind when it comes to replacing head coach Brad Stevens.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Celtics are expected to consider Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd and former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce.
Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago reported Chauncey Billups will be a candidate, while Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated added Nets coach Ime Udoka is also expected to be considered. Ian Begley of SNY reported Celtics assistant Jerome Allen will also get consideration for the job.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that Danny Ainge is expected to step down as Celtics president of basketball operations, while Stevens will transition from coaching to a front-office role.
Wojnarowski added that Stevens was "worn down" from coaching and "welcomed" the opportunity to make the move behind the scenes. Now, Stevens will head the search for his replacement.
The 44-year-old was the head coach at Butler for six seasons before making the jump to the NBA.
During his eight-year tenure, Stevens went 354-282 during the regular season and led the Celtics to the playoffs seven times.
The C's reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times with Stevens at the helm, but they were never able to break through with an NBA Finals appearance.
This season, the Celtics struggled at times and finished just 36-36 after winning at least 48 games in each of the previous five seasons. Boston's 2020-21 campaign ended Tuesday when it was eliminated by the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Both Kidd and Pierce are intriguing candidates to replace Stevens in that neither of them has experienced a great deal of head coaching success in the NBA.
Kidd, 48, was the head coach of the Nets for one season in 2013-14 before serving in the same role with the Milwaukee Bucks for four seasons. All told, Kidd is 183-190 as an NBA head coach with three trips to the playoffs.
For the past two seasons, the 10-time All-Star point guard has been an assistant under Frank Vogel with the Lakers, winning his second championship last season after being part of the Dallas Mavericks' 2010-11 title run as a player.
Pierce has just three years of NBA head coaching experience, all of which were spent with the Atlanta Hawks.
The 45-year-old Pierce is 63-120, and he was fired this season after a 14-20 start. Since Pierce's firing, the Hawks have been on a roll and lead the New York Knicks 3-1 in their first-round playoff series.
Before joining the Hawks, Pierce had extensive experience as a player development and assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers.
Whoever takes over as head coach of the Celtics will be inheriting a talented roster with the chance to achieve far more than it did this season.
Forward Jayson Tatum and guard Jaylen Brown are the franchise cornerstones, and if Stevens and the front office can both find the right head coach and put more pieces around their young All-Stars, it isn't outside the realm of possibility for the Celtics to contend as soon as next season.
