Getty Former NBA player Chauncey Billups watches pregame warm up between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on December 14, 2014 in San Diego, California.
The quest for Brad Stevens to find his own successor has officially gotten underway. Stevens, who recently stepped down as the Boston Celtics‘ head coach to replace Danny Ainge in the front office, has already interviewed the likes of Jay Larranaga, Jerome Allen, Scott Morrison and Joe Mazzulla for the job — all members of his former coaching staff.
Now, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Stevens has expanded his search outside of just internal candidates. The insider has reported that the Celtics’ president has sought and received permission to interview multiple NBA assistants for the vacancy, including Bucks’ Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, Mavericks’ Jamahl Mosley, Nets’ Ime Udoka and most notably, Clippers’ Chauncey Billups.
The latter, a former top-three draft pick of the Celtics back in 1997, is one of a handful of potential candidates with previous ties to the organization. With that said, while names such as 76ers’ assistant Sam Cassell and Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson can both be perceived as legitimate applicants for the job, The Athletic’s Jared Weiss and Sam Vecenie believe it is Billups who “checks all the boxes” for Boston — of course, aside from his limited coaching resume.
Chauncey Billups has been the most popular name on the market so far because he fits the most apparent coaching need as a relatively young former champion — as in he is the same age as Stevens — who has been lauded for his leadership, competitiveness and accountability. Those are the three traits the Celtics were missing this season besides by far the most impactful one: health. He’s far from the only option, but he does check all the boxes besides, of course, head coaching experience.
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Does Billups Want the Celtics Job?
While Billups appears to be atop the Celtics’ wish list this offseason, the former Finals MVP may have a different head coaching gig in mind. With three other head coach openings across the league; the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers, Billups is bound to receive his fair share of interest. And by the sound of it, Boston may not be atop his list of preferred destinations.
When asked by TMZ Sports whether Billups wants the Trail Blazers’ head coaching job, Billups’ former Detroit Pistons teammate, Rip Hamilton, responded emphatically, “Yeah!”
Billups Heading to Portland?
For what it’s worth, The Athletic has reported that the belief around the NBA landscape is that Billups is “likely” the man to replace Terry Stotts as Portland’s head coach.
Yes, league sources think Billups — currently a Clipper assistant — is the likely choice, which may be why Lakers assistant Jason Kidd removed himself from consideration with lightning speed.
Vegas seemingly agrees with this notion, as Billups is currently the consensus betting favorite to be hired by the Trail Blazers. Per SportsBettingDime, he currently holds +300 odds to be Stotts’ successor.
- Chauncey Billups, +300
- Sam Cassell, +400
- Dave Joeger, +600
- Juwan Howard +700
- Kenny Atkinson, +700
- David Vanterpool, +700
- Darvin Ham, +1000
- Mike D’Antoni, +1000
- Johnnie Bryant, +1400
- Nate McMillan, +1400
- Wes Unseld Jr., +1400
- Mike Brown, +1600
- Steve Clifford, +2000
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Former Finals MVP ‘Checks All the Boxes’ to Be Celtics Head Coach: Insider