Almost from the day Brad Stevens was hired to coach the Boston Celtics, there have been rumblings that Causeway Street is only a pit stop for him en route to another historic program.
ESPN.com has given Stevens 6-1 odds to replace Duke coach Mike Krzyzsewski once the legendary “Coach K” retires. Although Krzyzewski’s retirement is not believed to be imminent, Stevens long has been a rumored target of the Blue Devils.
The former obstacle, some observers say, was that Stevens was loyal to the Butler program that raised him as a coach and he was reluctant to leave the Bulldogs directly for another college program. His six-year contract with the Celtics would seem to tie him in Boston through 2019, but as Doc Rivers proved last summer, being under contract is no guarantee a coach will stick around.
Stevens is given the best odds of any non-Dookie by Jeff Goodman, but he’s still just fourth on the list. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, whose stock has skyrocketed over the last few years, is No. 1.
