Despite a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Heat within the Eastern Conference Finals, Brad Stevens is retaining his head coach.
The Celtics president confirmed that Joe Mazzulla will return to the bench next season after the series loss.
“He’s a terrific leader,” Stevens said Thursday. “He’ll only get well at anything that he can learn from this yr, because he’s always attempting to learn. And he’s accountable.”
Mazzulla, 34, took the helm of the team when Ime Udoka was suspended for the season for violations of team rules, including a reported inappropriate relationship with a female staff member.
Mazzulla might be losing three assistant coaches — Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Mose — who’re reportedly leaving to teach alongside Udoka in Houston after he was named Rockets head coach in May.
After Mazzulla led the team to a 57-25 record and the No. 2 seed within the Eastern Conference in his first season, Stevens said was pleased with the outcomes.
The chief will now seek so as to add at the very least one assistant coach who has multiple years of NBA experience, ESPN reported.
Stevens said the coach wasn’t the just one he aimed to bring back.
He couldn’t get into specifics around Jaylen Brown’s eligibility to sign a five-year extension and Grant Williams’ restricted free agency resulting from NBA rules, but stays hopeful he can retain a championship-caliber team.
“I’ve had nothing but great conversations with Jaylen,” Stevens said. “I can say, undoubtedly, we wish Jaylen to be here. He’s an enormous a part of us. We imagine in him and I’m thankful for him.
“I’m really thankful that when those guys have success they arrive back to work. And once they get beat, they own it they usually come back to work. And so I do know that’s what they’re about. And that’s hard to seek out.”
As Mazzulla gets set for his second yr leading Boston, the Celtics will look to iron out the kinks and hang a championship banner for the primary time for the reason that 2007-08 season.
In 2022, Boston fell short within the NBA Finals to the Warriors in six games.
This yr, the Celtics fought back with three wins in a row against the Heat after falling in a 3-0 conference finals hole, but they suffered a blowout 128-102 loss in Game 7 at home.
“Yeah, it’s why I have to be higher to work out what this team needs,” Mazzulla told reporters, answering whether there was a disconnect between him and the team.
When asked what the team needs, Mazzulla said, “I don’t know.”
Stevens said he hopes to maintain the team he has, although he mentioned the organization will proceed to maintain its finger on the heart beat of the league for potential pieces that would fit Boston.
“At the top of the day, we love our foundation. We love our core. And that’s really our focus and our priority,” Stevens said.
