Celtics Rumors: Charles Lee Finalizing Contract as Lead Assistant on Mazzulla's Staff

The Boston Celtics are making some changes to Joe Mazzulla's coaching staff.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, former Milwaukee Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee is reportedly "finalizing a deal" to become Mazzulla's lead assistant.

He wasn't the only high-profile hiring to Mazzulla's staff this offseason, as the team also brought aboard former NBA player and Philadelphia 76ers' assistant Sam Cassell as well.

An overhaul in that staff was expected.

Outside of the Celtics failing to return to the NBA Finals—undoubtedly a disappointment that perhaps warranted a bit of shuffling around the margins from a leadership perspective—the team also lost lead assistant coach Damon Stoudamire in March after he took over as Georgia Tech's head coach and saw assistants Ben Sullivan and Aaron Miles and player development coaches Garret Jackson and Mike Moser depart for Ime Udoka's staff in Houston.

Lee, 38, was reportedly a finalist for the head-coaching vacancies in both Toronto and Detroit, making him a highly respected name around the league and a solid addition to Mazzulla's staff.

Woj added that he was "pursued for several top assistant coaching jobs in the offseason before landing with the Celtics."

The Lee hiring was unsurprisingly lauded by NBA Twitter:

Granted, there is more work to be done in Boston. Outside of the coaching staff, the Celtics desperately need a true, playmaking point guard to help open up the offense. The Celtics became too reliant on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scoring in isolation during the postseason, and too often Tatum had to also play the role of primary facilitator.

There's no doubt that Marcus Smart's defense and leadership is vital to the Celtics, but his role as the team's point guard has him somewhat miscast. Adding a true distributor would help the Celtics immensely.

That, however, is a job for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens this summer.