Is Brad Stevens a championship caliber coach?

[gocelts]

What goes does it do for Danny to publicly acknowledge that Brad could have done better?!?!?!

besides piss off a good coach just to make YOU feel better?

Brad already acknowledged his problems and responsibility himself...in fact...he did it too much blaming himself instead of the players.

[TheTruth316]

I don't think he is that extra special coach. He is not wise enough to know his limitations. He has absolutely no veteran NBA coach on his team. Big mistake. As good as he looks at times, he also looks really really bad.

[sully00]

First of all Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving. None of these guys had as quite a run as they did while with Brad. Nothing has gone right with Rondo and Thomas since they left.

Your right most coaches would have handled the Kyrie thing differently and his ass would have had to be traded for 50 cents on the dollar at the trade deadline. I think Brad managed the situation the same way he did with Rondo the way Ainge wanted him to. To preserve the asset.

Brad is a great X and O's coach. He has been great developing young players and maximizing his star players potential. What he hasn't had is a veteran star who is also a team leader. Kyrie was wannabe and when it failed he decided he wanted to take his ball and go to BRK in the middle of the season.

Bottom line is that if Greg Popovich had Demarcus Cousins instead of Tim Duncan he never would have gotten into coaching. Hopefully the reputation is that Walker is a great guy and a good leader. That enables the coach to be a good coach. When everyone is walking around on egg shells because your best player is a sensitive diva it makes it difficult to have your usual leadership structure.

[MagicBagley18]

Stevens deserves blame for last season not for all of it but def part of the blame. Think you have to consider the star he was also trying to coach- if it’s Lebron or Giannis or kawhi or curry would Stevens have a problem getting along with them? Think the answer is a resounding no.

[SichtingLives]

Brad has taken more than enough heat for the turd roster he was saddled with, its time to move on from all the dwelling on last year and overreaching for answers. Said it before, obviously bears repeating, there isn't a coach in NBA history who would've made that situation work. You write the whole thing off for what it is and move on to the next year, Danny is already rectifying some of the mistakes he made in the personality of the clubhouse and Brad is still a top coach in the league. A whole lot of players and coaches are quite capable of being a meaningful part of a championship team but it takes everything coming together that season to make it happen and true top end franchise talent stirring the drink.

[BostonCouchGM]

I can agree with you to an extent, however if you look at the greatest coach in the history of the NBA(Pop), he's essentially focused on having level-headed, non-douche-bags on his teams.

Obviously, he had TD, Manu and Parker, all amazing, all-star level players but it's still an example of how it is possible. You don't NEED to be or have a Kobe to win it all.

Pop and Phil are so overrated as are all NBA coaches. Either you have great players or you don't. Pop just happened to luck out and get Duncan when the Eastern Conference went from being the stronger conference to the worst a conference has ever been in the NBA history after Jordan retired. 14 of the next 20 championships were won by the Western Conference Champions. Besides a couple of outliers, it has mostly been necessary to build super teams for the East to win (BOS, MIA, CLE) 4 out of the 5 championships the Spurs won were against some of the worst Finals teams ever. The old decrepit Knicks in the 1998 lockout season, the laughable Nets, the average at best Pistons and the Lebron and not much else Cavaliers. The Spurs had multiple Hall of Famers. I'm not saying Pop isn't a good coach. Just that he's vastly overrated. People talk as if he hasn't had loaded teams or something. I'll take Larry Brown over most any other coach. He actually won with no superstars. Maybe the only HC to ever do that.

[BostonCouchGM]

First of all Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving. None of these guys had as quite a run as they did while with Brad. Nothing has gone right with Rondo and Thomas since they left.

Your right most coaches would have handled the Kyrie thing differently and his ass would have had to be traded for 50 cents on the dollar at the trade deadline. I think Brad managed the situation the same way he did with Rondo the way Ainge wanted him to. To preserve the asset.

Brad is a great X and O's coach. He has been great developing young players and maximizing his star players potential. What he hasn't had is a veteran star who is also a team leader. Kyrie was wannabe and when it failed he decided he wanted to take his ball and go to BRK in the middle of the season.

Bottom line is that if Greg Popovich had Demarcus Cousins instead of Tim Duncan he never would have gotten into coaching. Hopefully the reputation is that Walker is a great guy and a good leader. That enables the coach to be a good coach. When everyone is walking around on egg shells because your best player is a sensitive diva it makes it difficult to have your usual leadership structure.

Rondo led the league in assists after leaving us. He also had CHI up 2-0 heading home versus us before getting injured. IT had injuries and was traded to a terrible situation so that's not fair. Kyrie just left and who knows what kind of run he'll have.

[greenpierce]

As devil's advocate, what coach does Chris Webber expect us to get? It's fine to be critical of a coach, and in all admission Stevens says he needs to do better. But who the heck is a better replacement for Stevens? This league is littered with retreads. Littered. Other than Stevens the last successful NCAA coach to make the jump... Billy Donovan? How's that working out? It's easy to put on the burden of switching out the coach. It's pretty darn difficult to pick the next guy. If Kawhi leaves, I'll be pretty interested in how good Nick Nurse is.

[CeltsfaninDC]

I think he is like Larry Brown.

You mean “Hall of Fame” Coach Larry Brown. If Stevens is a HOF caliber coach then we’ll be just fine.

[CeltsfaninDC]

Ty Lue is a " championship caliber coach”. Are you advocating firing Brad to hire a guy like that?

[tombattor]

He will be after this year.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Championship caliber coaches in Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich steal plays from Brad Stevens, so yes, I'd say he is. Just gotta get him the talent now

[sully00]

First of all Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving. None of these guys had as quite a run as they did while with Brad. Nothing has gone right with Rondo and Thomas since they left.

Your right most coaches would have handled the Kyrie thing differently and his ass would have had to be traded for 50 cents on the dollar at the trade deadline. I think Brad managed the situation the same way he did with Rondo the way Ainge wanted him to. To preserve the asset.

Brad is a great X and O's coach. He has been great developing young players and maximizing his star players potential. What he hasn't had is a veteran star who is also a team leader. Kyrie was wannabe and when it failed he decided he wanted to take his ball and go to BRK in the middle of the season.

Bottom line is that if Greg Popovich had Demarcus Cousins instead of Tim Duncan he never would have gotten into coaching. Hopefully the reputation is that Walker is a great guy and a good leader. That enables the coach to be a good coach. When everyone is walking around on egg shells because your best player is a sensitive diva it makes it difficult to have your usual leadership structure.

Rondo led the league in assists after leaving us. He also had CHI up 2-0 heading home versus us before getting injured. IT had injuries and was traded to a terrible situation so that's not fair. Kyrie just left and who knows what kind of run he'll have.

And I actually follow basketball he had his hands all over that team imploding all season long, he somehow is a veteran player who finds a way to piss off his coach and other vets everywhere he goes. I am sure it isn't all his fault he just combusts in the locker room and always has.

I am not saying that these guys are bad players or even bad guys Rondo and IT were great here and I would have been fine with Irving coming back. I am saying Brad did a pretty good job keeping a lid on **** while these guys where here and it has been messy where they have been before and since.

[ermocrate]

I think he is like Larry Brown.

You mean “Hall of Fame” Coach Larry Brown. If Stevens is a HOF caliber coach then we’ll be just fine.

Nobody said he is a bad coach but I think he will need a Pistons like team to win.

[ermocrate]

Championship caliber coaches in Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich steal plays from Brad Stevens, so yes, I'd say he is. Just gotta get him the talent now

Wait, for you an NBA Coach is the one who is better at drawing plays?

[Ben-N1ce]

Luke Walton led GS to a 39-4 start and was considered a total bum with the Lakers. It had nothing to do with the roster or anything.