7:54pm: Stevens' deal with the C's is six years, for $22MM, per Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
6:13pm: Stevens will get a six-year contract with the Celtics, reports Steve Bulpett from the Boston Herald, citing a league source (via Twitter).
4:41pm: The Celtics have officially reached an agreement to hire Brad Stevens as their head coach, the team announced today in a press release. Stevens had served as the head coach at Butler University for the past six seasons.
"Brad and I share a lot of the same values," team president Danny Ainge said in a statement. "Though he is young, I see Brad as a great leader who leads with impeccable character and a strong work ethic. His teams always play hard and execute on both ends of the court. Brad is a coach who has already enjoyed lots of success, and I look forward to working with him towards Banner 18."
A report last week indicated that the Celtics intended to target lower-profile coaching candidates, and Stevens certainly qualifies. While he has had success at the NCAA level, the 36-year-old Stevens hadn't been publicly linked to any of the NBA's 12 other head coaching openings this offseason, though Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that another NBA club considered hiring him a few weeks ago.
After releasing Doc Rivers from the three years and $21MM left on his contract, the Celtics will presumably be paying significantly less to Stevens, though the terms of the agreement aren't yet known. As Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports notes (via Twitter), the Celtics front office has put a greater emphasis on analytics, which Stevens incorporated at Butler.
how long does he get?
Interesting hire. I like to see bold moves.
A 6 year deal, thats why he went to Boston. Even at 2 million per, if he gets fired….in year 3
Where did you you read that he got a 6 year deal for $2M per year, I haven’t seen that anywhere, just wondering.