NBA Rumors: Details On Celtics’ ‘Criteria’ For Next Head Coach

The Boston Celtics presumably will leave no stone unturned in their search for a new head coach.

Brad Stevens, who served as Boston’s head coach for the past eight seasons, was mostly excellent in the role before being promoted to president of basketball operations recently with Danny Ainge retiring. So, the C’s have a very important decision to make.

A number of candidates already have emerged over the past couple of weeks, and Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer on Monday shed more light on what the Celtics are looking for in their next head coach.

“Team personnel contacted by B/R maintain that hiring a Black candidate is another top priority for the Celtics,” Fischer wrote. “If Boston can also land someone who has previous head coaching experience, that person would further meet the Celtics’ criteria, sources said.”

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Putting two and two together led Fischer to identify Atlanta Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan as an “under-the-radar contender” to become Boston’s head coach. Sources told Fischer all indications are the Hawks will remove the “interim” label from McMillan’s title and offer him a contract extension, though, so the Celtics ultimately might have to look elsewhere despite his credentials.

Nevertheless, as Fischer notes, the Celtics’ preference seemingly is to land a highly regarded young coach who has experience playing in the NBA and who can relate well with players.

Where the search ultimately leads the Celtics remains to be seen, but Los Angeles Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups, Philadelphia 76ers assistant Sam Cassell, Milwaukee Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee and Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka are among the names that have been connected to Boston ever since the Stevens/Ainge news broke on June 2.