Longtime Celtics Assistant Interviews for Wizards HC Job

Brad Stevens Celtics Staff

Getty Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics with members of his coaching staff, including Scott Morrison.

Brad Stevens’ search is officially over. The former Boston Celtics coach turned team president has found his replacement on the sidelines in longtime NBA assistant and Gregg Popovich disciple Ime Udoka.

Making the coaching hire was one of Stevens’ top priorities heading into his first offseason leading the Celtics’ front office. Now, between adding Udoka and his move to trade Kemba Walker for Al Horford and Moses Brown, the team’s new direction is beginning to take shape.

In the meantime, members of Stevens’ old coaching staff are suddenly facing an uncertain future. Although it’s feasible that some of the team’s current assistants could be retained, Udoka will undoubtedly want to bring in his own people.

And outside opportunities exist all around the Association.

For his part, Jerome Allen — who was one of the internal candidates to replace Stevens — has already taken a job as an assistant with the Detroit Pistons.

On Thursday, another Stevens assistant who interviewed for the Celtics’ top job revealed that he did the same for another of the league’s open head-coaching gigs.

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Scott Morrison Still Eyeing Head Coaching Job

Quebecois hoops insider Peter Yannopoulos posted on Twitter that he had spoken with Celtics assistant Scott Morrison for Réseau des sports (RDS) in Montreal. During the interview, Morrison shared that he had met with the Washington Wizards about their head-coaching vacancy.

Washington has been on the prowl for a new coach since the team elected to allow former headman Scott Brooks’ contract to expire earlier this month.

Morrison, 43, has been part of the Celtics organization since 2014 when he was tapped to become head coach of the team’s D-League affiliate at the time, the Maine Red Claws.

The Prince Edward Island, Canada native went on to capture 2014–15 D-League Coach of the Year honors, leading the club to a best-ever 35-15 mark. He would ultimately conclude his run in Maine as the Red Claws’ all-time leader in coaching wins, posting a record of 95-55.

Among the players he worked with along the way: current Cs guard Marcus Smart, Dwight Powell, Terry Rozier and Abdel Nader.

He became part of Stevens’ bench in 2017.


Morrison Faces Stiff Competition for the Job

Whether or not Morrison is still under consideration in Washington, D.C. is not currently known. If he is, though, he faces stiff competition from another longtime league assistant and former NBA All-Star.

On the latest episode of The Hoops Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst indicated that Sam Cassell is a leading candidate for the Wizards job. His reported frontrunner status comes as no surprise given his years of experience in the Association and his history with the Wizards franchise.

After wrapping up a 15-year playing career that saw him average 15.7 points, 6.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, Cassell subsequently became an assistant coach for the Wizards. He would remain with the club for five years, from 2009 to 2014.

During that time, he developed relationships with Wizards star Bradley Beal, as well as the team’s current general manager, Tommy Sheppard.

Cassell was also considered a possibility for the Celtics before Udoka got the job.

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