Where will Brad Stevens turn as he searches for the Celtics next coach?
This time, the Celtics have a larger pool of candidates from which to choose and its Stevens making the decision following Ainges retirement. Being the lone NBA job open, and it being the Celtics with two All-Stars and a roster expected to reach the playoffs, it is considered a premium job. The Celtics are beginning their first coaching search in eight years. The previous one was brief. A few days after Doc Rivers decided to step down and accept a larger role with the Clippers, Danny Ainge decided on Butler University coach Brad Stevens , who accepted the job shortly after the offer. Advertisement  While its difficult to determine what Stevens is seeking, the consensus around the NBA is that the Celtics are looking for a coach with NBA playing experience who can relate to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and command their respect. There are a number of possibilities, but here are six with which Celtics fans should be familiar:  Chauncey Billups  The former Celtic is now a Clippers assistant coach under ex-Celtics assistant Tyronn Lue. Billups has been regarded as a future NBA coach or general manager and there were talks with his hometown Nuggets about a position before he decided to stay at ESPN. Knowing he needed to gain experience to be considered for a head coaching job, Billups joined the Clippers. He is the most accomplished candidate, with a reputation as a leader on the 2003-04 Pistons championship team. Billups would seem like a natural to build relationships with players and use his basketball acumen to take the Celtics to the next level. Odds: 4/1. Sam Cassell  Another former player with Celtics ties, Cassell is now with Rivers in Philadelphia after spending five years as an assistant with the Wizards and another six with Rivers with the Clippers. Cassell has coached teams in summer leagues and has been groomed to lead his own team. He has paid his dues as an assistant, is familiar with the Celtics brass after being a member of the 2007-08 title team, and is highly respected around the league. Cassell also has an affable style and personality that is popular with players. Odds: 4/1  Advertisement  Ime Udoka  He doesnt carry a big name, but Udoka is a highly respected assistant waiting for his first big opportunity. Udoka, 43, is a member of Steve Nashs staff in Brooklyn and was with Brett Browns staff in Philadelphia, so he is familiar with the Celtics. Udoka comes from the Gregg Popovich coaching tree with the Spurs and won a title as an assistant in 2014. He may not bring the sizzle of other coaches, but Udoka should get a long look. Odds: 8/1. Jerome Allen  The Celtics assistant is a former coach at Penn and has been with Boston for the past four years. He has been a positive influence, forging close relationships with the players, but it may be difficult to sell ownership on someone on the current staff with such close ties to Stevens. Still, Allens goal is to be an NBA head coach, and hes been an asset to Stevens. Odds: 16/1. Jay Larranaga  Another assistant on Stevenss staff, Larranaga was a finalist for the Hornets job that went to James Borrego. He has worked closely with Tatum and Brown and can be credited with aiding their ascension. Again, it may be difficult for Larranaga to have a chance because it may be perceived that Stevens is playing favorites. If it doesnt work out for Larranaga, he could be a holdover on the new coachs staff. Odds: 16/1. Advertisement  Kara Lawson  The Duke womens coach spent a season with the Celtics as an assistant before joining the Blue Devils in a season that was short-lived because of COVID-19. The Celtics think highly of Lawson and she was popular with the players because of her work ethic and basketball knowledge. It may be a difficult sell because of her commitment to Duke, but Lawson will get an interview if she wants it. Odds: 8/1. DOWN IN FLAMES  Another early  exit for Blazers  Damian Lillard was often brilliant against the Nuggets, but couldn't drag Portland out of the first round. Steph Chambers/Getty  The Trail Blazers looked as if they were ready to advance past the first round, taking Game 1 in Denver behind Damian Lillards brilliant performance. But they then lost four of the next five, including in double overtime in Game 5 with Lillard scoring 55 points. Finally, the Blazers lost a 14-point lead in Game 6 and lost at home. Season over, despite Lillard again being one of the best players in the league. Lillard left a cryptic post on Instagram, asking whether loyalty lasts forever. General manager Neal Olshey has to determine how to bring the Blazers to the next level. They had apparently won the offseason, acquiring Robert Covington and Enes Kanter, and signing Harry Giles. Advertisement  But it still came down to a lack of defense and not enough support for Lillard. Jusuf Nurkic came back from injury but couldnt stay out of foul trouble in the Denver series, defending likely MVP Nikola Jokic. Coach Terry Stotts has some a solid job but has not fully taken advantage of Lillards brilliance. Lillard has three more years on his contract and a player option for a fourth, so he isnt going anywhere unless the Blazers trade him. Instead, they will likely try to again upgrade the roster, and maybe the coaching staff. Its disappointing to lose in the playoffs, Stotts said. Denver is a great team. Jokic is a great player. But I couldnt be more proud of what we did to put ourselves in a position to be the sixth seed. Its almost like last season and this season were rolled into one long season. Last season was very challenging for a lot of different reasons. Our expectations were high. With Nurkic missing 35 games and CJ [McCollum] missing 25 games theres a lot to be proud of, what we did in the regular season. At the end of the season, to do what we did was pretty impressive. We had been written off and we werent. That showed a lot of character in our guys.  When asked about his job status, Stotts said, Im under contract for two more years. Just like the end of every year, were all evaluated. Well see what happens.  Advertisement  Nurkic wasnt completely happy with his role. He played about 24 minutes per game, with Kanter taking the other minutes minutes. It kept Nurkic from getting into foul trouble, but he wanted more. Never in my life, never throw under the bus, nobody, Nurkic said when asked why the Blazers came up short. I dont want to point the finger. They just outplayed us. I give them credit. I dont know if Im going to be back. Im going to leave that to Rich Paul, my agent. Im going to take a step away from basketball. I wish my role was bigger. I think I can help more. Its hard when you have one of the best players ever to play this game and you still feel its not enough. In the right situation [I want to be back]. This is not it.  Lillard is 30 and in the prime of his career, but he has to determine whether its worth sticking with the Blazers when they continue to fall short of competing with the elite teams in the West. When this is your job and this is what you want, its disappointing, he said. What we have now isnt good enough. I dont know what changes will be made. We came up short against a team without their starting point guard and shooting guard. Will Barton didnt play and Jamal Murray didnt play and we came up short, so what we have isnt good enough to win a championship.  ETC. Many decisions  to make in D.C.  Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard wouldn't commit to bringing back coach Scott Brooks this week. Nick Wass/Associated Press  The Wizards may have been hit by COVID-19 harder than any NBA team this season. Whats more, they had more than one day off in a row just once (March 19-20) after the All-Star break. Still, Washington won 17 of its last 23 games and earned the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the top-seeded 76ers in the first round. There are major issues, however, within the organization. Coach Scott Brooks just completed the final year of his contract, and general manager Tommy Sheppard did not commit to bringing him back. Were not doing anything about that today, Sheppard said this past week. Were going to do a thorough evaluation from top to bottom of our whole organization and ways we can get better. But any question about that stuff, thats not for today. I will say this. Scotty did a hell of a job keeping this team together through the most difficult, dark moments probably in franchise history. Some of the moments we faced early in the season, to finish the way we did, 17-6, and to be able to go 19-10 since the trade deadline, I think speaks very highly of a cohesive unit that was able to overcome great odds, and Scotty did a great job with that.  Brooks is a quality coach, but the question is whether he can lead the Wizards to the next level. He was fired in Oklahoma City because the Thunder had plateaued. Overall, the Wizards have been mediocre during his tenure, despite being expected to make a run when they acquired Russell Westbrook for the disgruntled John Wall in December. Westbrook did set the career triple-double previously held by Oscar Robertson, but showed the same flaws he did in previous stops, namely turnovers near the end of games, and below-average 3-point shooting. Bradley Beal earned his third All-Star selection and is the Wizards true franchise player, but hes entering the final year of his contract and will have to determine whether he wants to make a long-term commitment to Washington. Beal has had his ups and downs in nine seasons with the Wizards, but the organization moved Wall to give him the keys to the franchise. We need to be a much better team next year to compete at the level we want to compete at, Sheppard said. Weve gotten better since last year. Our record has improved. We got to the playoffs. I think thats going to be the expectation moving forward, but we want to finish much higher than that. We made the play-in, but now thats no longer acceptable. We have to be better next season.  Beal has not said he will re-sign with the Wizards, but he was pleased with the teams progress this season. Hes been part of a lot of underachieving teams. He wants to be considered an elite player, and that means playing in bigger games. The Wizards have never been a popular free agent destination, so Sheppard will have to be creative in how he builds the roster. But he wants to build that roster around Beal. Everything starts with Bradley Beal, Sheppard said. This team moving forward, we put this team around Bradley. Russell and Bradley have created an environment where that is second to none. Theres no drama. Theres genuine brotherhood. We bring it every single day. I look at all the options we have available to us moving forward, and it starts with time. This season, to get to where we are, was a remarkable achievement. What Russell brought to this team, he was an incredible co-pilot to Bradley, creating an environment that theres accountability among the players.  Theres a wrinkle to the Beal situation. Other teams could make trade offers for Beal, knowing hes entering the final year of his deal. If Sheppard isnt certain Beal will re-sign, he could accept one of those offers to get reasonable compensation. Sheppards plan is to encourage Beal to re-sign by upgrading the roster. Robin Lopez, Raul Neto, Ish Smith, and Alex Len are all free agents. The Wizards need more perimeter shooting and another solid wing defender to help one of the leagues worst defensive teams. Nothings changed for me and Bradley, Sheppard said. Straight-line conversation with him has always been transparent and very direct, and thats how it will continue. I know he was very pleased with this season in terms of what we were able to accomplish, making him feel like this is a place where we can be a contender. I think hes positive about moving forward in the future. Our moves need to be about production, not about the press conference.  Sheppard first must decide whether to keep Brooks as coach. And then the Wizards have to determine how they can improve in a stacked conference. Westbrook is signed for two more years. Daniel Gafford could be the teams starting center after being a throw-in in a trade with the Bulls. Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija are former lottery picks that should develop into major contributors. The future could be bright in Washington, but there are question marks that have to be addressed in the coming months. Were going to formulate a lot of information, a lot of opinions, and Im going to sit with Scotty and see the things they can do better, Sheppard said. Its never down to one person. There hasnt been that continuity that successful teams have year in and year out. Thats what we want, continuity.  Layups  The Nets' biggest challenge ahead of their second-round series with Milwaukee is how to defend perpetual matchup nightmare Giannis Antetokounmpo. Aaron Gash/Associated Press  One of the major issues for the Nets in their second-round series against the Bucks is who will defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, who flourished against Brooklyn this season. The Nets will be without Jeff Green (foot) for at least the first few games and have been using Blake Griffin as a starter. That may not have hurt against the Celtics, who constantly went at Griffin in pick-and-rolls, but he cant defend Antetokounmpo. During the regular season, the Nets used DeAndre Jordan against Antetokounmpo, and that didnt work. Jordan, once the Nets starting center, did not play against the Celtics. Kevin Durant could get the assignment against Antetokounmpo, but it would be taxing to attempt to defend him, and then be depended on to score. The Nets lack quality big men, a byproduct of gutting their roster to sign Durant and Kyrie Irving, and then trading for James Harden  One of the unique aspects of the Celtics coaching vacancy is that its the only job open despite the regular season ending two weeks ago. Most of the leagues worst teams have newer coaches, such as Minnesota (Chris Finch), Houston (Stephen Silas), and Oklahoma City (Mark Daigneault), while Sacramento (Luke Walton) and Cleveland (J.B. Bickerstaff) have given their coaches endorsements for next season. There could be openings in Portland (Terry Stotts) and Washington (Brooks), but the Celtics will begin their offseason as the only opportunity for aspiring coaches, so Brad Stevens will certainly receive his share of calls and texts from interested parties  The NBA released the early-entry numbers, and 353 college and international players have submitted their names, for a 60-player draft. Many of these are players just looking to get an evaluation before returning to school, while others decided not to use the extra year of eligibility granted because of the pandemic. The whopping number of is the byproduct of college players wanting to begin their professional careers, and submitting their names knowing full well they dont have a chance of getting drafted. But they just want to go to through the process and get a shot with a G-League team or a club overseas. One of the more interesting names to declare is Howard University center Makur Maker, who played just two games for the Bison before suffering an injury, and could return to school. This is expected to be a top-heavy draft, so expect several sleepers and second-round picks to make NBA rosters. Gary Washburn can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.