Getty Boston Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga works with Marcus Smart before a 2018 game.
The offseason is only a few weeks old for the Boston Celtics, but — already — the team has undergone some massive changes. For their latest headline-grabbing move, the Celtics officially hired former NBA player and longtime assistant Ime Udoka to replace new team president Brad Stevens as head coach.
Although the move established a clear direction at the top of the coaching staff, uncertainty abounds behind the 43-year-old Udoka. As with all head-coaching hires, Udoka is expected to inject some new blood into the Cs staff; Will Hardy is already said to be on his way.
That could trigger moves for those assistants who comprised Stevens’ staff last season (and beyond).
One of them — Jerome Allen — has already moved on to a similar post with the Detroit Pistons. And if recent reports are any indication, he won’t be the only casualty of the Stevens-Udoka swap.
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Murray: Longtime Assistant Likely Not Returning
On Tuesday, hoops scribe Clevis Murray reported that Jay Larranaga — a Beantown fixture for nearly a decade — could be looking for a new job.
“Source: As of right now, longtime Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga isn’t expected to return to the team,” Murray tweeted.
The 46-year-old joined Allen and Scott Morrison as one of the internal candidates to interview with Stevens before he opted to hire Udoka as coach. Earlier this month, Larranaga was even BetOnline.ag’s betting favorite to land the job, as relayed by CLNS.
Larranaga originally came to the Celtics back in 2012 when Doc Rivers still roamed the sidelines, making him the team’s longest-tenured assistant. He was also a head coaching candidate when the 2008 NBA champion made the move to the Los Angeles Clippers the following year.
Throughout his NBA run, Larranaga has been a candidate to fill a number of other head coaching vacancies around the league, too.
Before joining the Celtics, Larranaga coached the D-League’s Erie BayHawks for two seasons. He also coached the Irish national basketball team –with whom he also played — and was an assistant during Mike Fratello’s time with Team Ukraine.
Celtics Fans React to Larranaga News
Although he has never had an opportunity to lead an NBA squad, Larranaga has clearly made an impression with his work. In the wake of Murray’s report, fans came out in droves with words of support for the longtime assistant.
“Hope he gets his shot somewhere else,” wrote one Redditor. “By all accounts a good dude and player favorite, but I think going the Udoka route was the right move.”
“I mean he’s been around since 2012, I knew there was a chance but I thought that he might still stay since he’s done the transition before from Doc to Brad,” added another commenter. “Maybe there is a more appealing opportunity. I’ll miss him and his crazy eyes.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’d feel betrayed in that situation, but I’d definitely feel like I hit a ceiling,” wrote a third commenter. “Here’s hoping Jay receives the HC gig he deserves, or at least lands somewhere that makes him feel fulfilled.”
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Longtime Assistant Likely to Leave Celtics: Report