Taking what Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens and president Danny Ainge said at face value, the rumors about Stevens leaving to coach in the college ranks again have no truth. Both men dismissed the rumor that linked Stevens to the Texas Longhorn's coaching job, with Stevens saying he would be back next season as the Celtics' coach.
Stevens is considered one of the most promising NBA coaches, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver going as far as saying Stevens had one of the best young coaching minds Silver had ever seen. It makes sense a college team would want to bring in the ex-Butler coach, but Stevens made it clear Wednesday he had no desire to return to the collegiate level.
"I'll be in Boston," Stevens told reporters after Boston's 100-87 win over Indiana, according to CBS Sports.
Ainge said something to the same effect a day later.
"Brad's not considering college. Brad is with the Celtics ... and it's just talk. It's just talk out there," Ainge said Thursday on the "Toucher & Rich" show. "When coaching jobs open up, of course there's a lot of people that would love to have interest in Brad, but I'm not even sure that there's been any contact. I think it's just mostly talk."
The Stevens-to-Texas talk began with a report from Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports, who mentioned Stevens as one of the coaches the university is interested in.
"A knowledge source informs me that as of this morning there have been no direct talks (between) Texas and Shaka Smart. Not sensing momentum," Davis tweeted Tuesday. "... If you want a sleeper for the job, it could be Avery Johnson. I'm also hearing some Brad Stevens chatter. This will be a fun one."
