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Mere days after giving up his head coaching position with the Boston Celtics to become the team’s president of basketball operations, Bran Stevens is hard at work seeking a replacement. To that end, he and his brain trust have begun the process with in-house candidates.
Longtime Stevens assistants Jay Larranaga and Jerome Allen have already been namechecked as internal options for the Celtics. Now, another member of the former coach’s staff will reportedly interview for the job as well.
As reported by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto on Friday, Celtics assistant Scott Morrison will join his bench mates in speaking with Boston brass about the gig.
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Making a Name in Celtics Developmental
The 43-year-old Prince Edward Island, Canada native first became involved with the Celtics organization in 2014 when he became the head coach of the team’s then D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.
He subsequently led the club to a franchise-record 35-15 mark. For his efforts, he was awarded the 2014–15 D-League Coach of the Year trophy. By the end of his run with the team, he was its all-time leader in coaching wins, logging a win/loss record of 95-55.
He also worked with players like current Cs wing Marcus Smart, Dwight Powell, Terry Rozier and Abdel Nader, among others.
In 2017, Morrison was tapped by Stevens to become one of his assistants with the Celtics. At the time, he considered it the culmination of a years-long hoops journey.
“The journey I supposed you could say from the D-League to the NBA seems to be finished,” he told TBNewsWatch at the time. “At least for the time being.”
Now, he’s looking to ascend to one of the premier professional basketball coaching jobs worldwide.
Before Boston
Prior to his involvement with the Celtics, Morrison spent more than a decade as the head coach of Ontario’s Lakehead University from 2003 to 2014. Near the end of his run with the school, he led the Thunderwolves to four consecutive CIS Final 8 appearances.
In 2013, Lakehead reached the CIS championship game but ultimately fell to the Carleton Ravens.
Morrison was also involved with the Canadian national team program for two international cycles as the coach of Team Canada’s U19 team. At the FIBA U19 World Championships in Prague (2013) and Crete (2015), he directed the team to seventh and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
Before he got into coaching, Morrison was a solid collegiate player in Canada. Playing for the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers, he graduated in 2000 as the institution’s all-time leader in assists and three-point field goals. He was also the fifth-leading scorer in school history.
Other Candidates
As noted by Scotto and others, former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka are also considered candidates for the job. So, too, are Los Angeles Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Michigan’s Juwan Howard.
However, Stevens may have competition in landing one of the latter two if he finds himself leaning in their direction.
On Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers made the move to dismiss longtime coach Terry Stotts in the wake of the team’s latest first-round exit. According to ESPN, Billups and Howard are both candidates for the Blazers job.
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