As the Boston Celtics beat the San Antonio Spurs heading into the All-Star break, people have pointed to Brad Stevens as being the mastermind behind the operation since he is the president of basketball operations. With the Celtics looking to dominate past the trade deadline, Stevens' name was mentioned recently in rumors for what will be the open Indiana basketball head coaching job.
Because Mike Woodson will step down as head coach from the Hoosiers program, people have linked Stevens' name to the opening. However, he would respond swiftly to the rumors saying he is perfectly happy in his current position with Boston according to Jeff Goodman.
“I thoroughly appreciate being a Celtic and love the people I get to work with every day,” Stevens said.
Brad Stevens sticking with Celtics rather than heading to Hoosiers
Stevens was a college basketball head coach in the past with the Butler program, even taking the school to four straight national tournament appearances with back-to-back national title games. People easily connected the Celtics executive when it was officially announced by the Indiana basketball team that Woodson would move to the side after the season.
“During a meeting with Coach Woodson on Wednesday, he informed me he wanted to step down as our program's head coach at the end of the current season,” Hoosiers Athletic Director Scott Dolson said according to Andy Katz. “He said it had been weighing on his mind for a while, and that it was an emotional and difficult decision. We have had subsequent thoughtful conversations about his decision and his desire to ensure that the program is in the best position it can be moving forward.”
Woodson called it a “tough” decision but is still motivated to close out strong with the team.
“It’s tough, man. They know that I won’t be back and that’s tough on these guys. It’s tough on me,” Woodson said via Inside the Hall. “But we still got a lot of season left. I just want these guys to believe, I want them to get into the tournament and experience it and get in the Big Ten tournament and see if you can win it.”
Back to Boston, Stevens would rather stay with the organization coming off a title, currently in the mix to win their second straight.
