Is JB Bickerstaff the man to fill the hole on the Boston Celtics’ coaching staff?
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens interviewed the veteran NBA coach for a potential role on his staff, The New York Post’s Mark Berman reported Thursday, citing a source. Bickerstaff and Stevens reportedly met Wednesday night in Chicago at the NBA Draft combine.
Stevens apparently seeks another assistant coach, following Micah Shrewsberry’s recent departure for Purdue University.
Bickerstaff, 40, has been an NBA coach for the last 15 years. He was an assistant with the then-Charlotte Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets between 2004 and 2015. He spent just under one full season as Houston’s interim head coach in 2015-16 after the team fired Kevin McHale. Bickerstaff joined the Memphis Grizzlies as associate head coach in summer 2016. Memphis promoted him to head coach in 2017, and he spent 16-plus months in charge until the team fired him April 11.
Bickerstaff reportedly had been a candidate to become the Los Angeles Lakers’ and Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach, but those jobs went to Frank Vogel and John Beilin, respectively.
Stevens faces competition for Bickerstaff’s services, as Beilein is considering hiring Bickerstaff as his top assistant, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday, citing sources.
