Between the 2013–14 season and the 2020–21 campaign, Brad Stevens led the Boston Celtics for eight seasons as their head coach. He guided the Celtics to three Eastern Conference Finals appearances and seven postseason trips throughout that period.
Though the Celtics routinely advanced far in the playoffs when Stevens was directing the team from the sidelines, Boston was never able to overcome the hump and win a championship.
However, that all changed when, prior to the 2021–22 season, Stevens’ position with the Celtics shifted from head coach to president of basketball operations. Danny Ainge, who left the role after almost 20 years, was succeeded by him.
The team has made two trips to the NBA Finals and one championship in his three seasons in this position.
Stevens said that there are difficulties in his role as the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, despite all of the team’s achievements. More precisely, he mentioned that transitioning from head coach to executive was his toughest obstacle.
“We’ve all been there together, and the front office has been so solid and been there for a while,” Stevens said to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. So that’s been quite beneficial. We have a ton of folks that are incredibly good at the things that I’m not as good at. It’s been an enjoyable place to work and to be, for that reason. Seeing some of our coaches take on new challenges has made me happy, but I’m also happy for our players, coaches, and front office because they’ve worked so hard to have a championship run this year.
“However, it never ends. I’m asked what the differences are by people. As a coach, you work in an eight-month sprint where your responsibilities include leading or managing the team and overseeing your personnel. In this position, the complete basketball operations cycle makes it more akin to a 12-month employment. Since the roster creation is such a minor component, I probably would have given it too little credit. It’s probably about 10% of the work, if that, and that’s all everyone discusses.
Boston finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, 64-18, and Stevens was voted the 2023–24 Executive of the Year. Stevens arranged trades in the 2023 offseason that sent Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.
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