Quin Snyder has stepped down from his post as the head coach of the Utah Jazz, causing the organization to conduct a new coaching search. With less than a week before the 2022 NBA Draft gets underway on Thursday night, the Jazz don’t appear to be in a rush to make their decision, with several candidates still receiving interviews. One name who hasn’t been linked is Brad Stevens, who currently works as the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics.
Brad Stevens an unlikely fit for Utah coaching gig
Having moved from the bench to the front office, it wouldn’t appear that Brad Stevens is suddenly ready to head back to coaching after just one year away, but that won’t prevent the rumor mill from spinning.
NBA insider Marc Stein suggested Danny Ainge, a current executive with the Jazz, could use his Boston connections to gauge Stevens’ interest in becoming a head coach again. Yet, as Stein points out, it may be a longshot.
After all, the Celtics just got to the NBA Finals in the first year of Stevens’s tenure as the team’s POBO, does he really want to start all over again in a new city, trying to bring the Jazz further than he’s gone before?
It’s possible Stevens realized he’s missed having the opportunity to coach a team, helping athletes realize their full potential, instead of working to assemble a roster behind the scenes. The Jazz could do a lot worse than a coach who led his team to the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons at the helm.
Still, it comes back to what Stevens wants. If there’s a legitimate interest in becoming a coach again, at just 45 years old, Stevens has plenty of time to make up his mind.
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