The Celtics are usually not messing round in terms of bolstering their teaching workers.
For a second consecutive week, the Celtics have added a extremely revered veteran assistant coach from a rival. After reportedly hiring 76ers assistant Sam Cassell final Sunday, the Celtics are finalizing a deal to rent Bucks assistant Charles Lee to be their new lead assistant coach below head coach Joe Mazzulla, in accordance with a report Sunday from ESPN.
The 38-year-old Lee was reportedly a finalist for the head-coaching openings in Detroit and Toronto, however when each of these franchises went in a unique path – the Pistons employed Monty Williams and on Saturday, the Raptors went with Darko Rajakovic – the Celtics swooped in for Lee, who has reportedly been on their radar for years.
Lee was an assistant to Mike Budenholzer for the final 9 seasons, together with the final 4 in Milwaukee earlier than the Bucks fired Budenholzer following their first-round loss to Miami. Last season, Lee grew to become Budenholzer’s lead assistant after Darvin Ham left to develop into the top coach of the Lakers and he helped information the Bucks to the highest seed within the Eastern Conference and one of the best common season report within the NBA.
Lee went undrafted as a guard within the 2006 NBA draft earlier than embarking on a brief enjoying profession abroad that included stops in Israel and Germany. He then started his teaching profession, first along with his alma mater Bucknell as an assistant coach earlier than transitioning to the NBA with the Hawks below Budenholzer.
Report: Sam Cassell to affix Celtics’ teaching workers as assistant below Joe Mazzulla
The Celtics anticipated a revamp of their teaching workers and have made it a transparent precedence to encompass Mazzulla with extra expertise within the early days of this offseason. The Celtics primarily misplaced three teaching voices final season with Ime Udoka’s suspension and supreme dismissal, Will Hardy’s departure to Utah and Damon Stoudamire’s midseason departure to Georgia Tech, and by no means changed them.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens mentioned at his end-of-season press convention that they tried to switch these coaches however couldn’t make it occur.
“I think one of the things is obviously we had a change in coaches five days before the season started,” Stevens mentioned. “And we did attempt to add to the workers at the moment. But you’re additionally weighing, like, you’ve obtained lots of people which can be actually proficient in right here. I’m certain you’ll see, as we’ve talked about, our assistants this 12 months and our assistants just about yearly are going to be known as and requested by a number of groups. So now we have a superb workers, and I feel that’s one factor that sort of will get misplaced within the shuffle, as a result of we did have lots of people that we misplaced, too.
“But the staff we had was good. And we did try. Losing Damon in March we again tried. But those timings are tough for people to up and move or up and join a new team that they don’t know anything about or don’t know. But that was just to be supplemental, because we believed in the people that were here. So, moving forward we’ll have at least … we’ll see how everything shakes itself out with what the staff looks like. But we’ll at least have one addition that we’ll make now that we have a summer to make it, and then we’ll go from there.”
Stevens mentioned then that the Celtics would attempt to add at the very least one assistant with NBA expertise. Now they’ve two. There may very well be extra modifications and additions coming because the Celtics are anticipated to lose Ben Sullivan – who was Mazzulla’s lead assistant after Stoudamire left – who’s rumored to be becoming a member of Udoka in Houston, and different assistants are reportedly on the transfer.
Mazzulla’s inexperience as a rookie head coach was uncovered at factors throughout the playoffs and it was clear he wanted some extra steering with a depleted teaching workers, particularly after the departure of Stoudamire who had in depth expertise as a participant and coach within the NBA. But the additions of Cassell and Lee – two veteran voices have been every reportedly finalists for head teaching openings – simply weeks into the offseason ought to arm Mazzulla with loads of assist as he heads into his second season in cost.
Source: www.bostonherald.com