Brad Stevens On Contract Extension: 'An Honor And A Privilege To Coach Celtics'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Before the Celtics left Boston for the NBA bubble in Orlando, the front office approached head coach Brad Stevens about a contract extension. It only took a few weeks for both sides to come to terms, and it was announced Wednesday that Stevens was locked up for the foreseeable future.
Stevens wouldn't say how long the extension goes when chatting with reporters ahead of Boston's "regular season finale" against the Washington Wizards down in Orlando, leaving it up to the media to guess (or get the scoop). But Stevens made it clear that he's happy his time in Boston will continue, as the Celtics continue to build toward title contender status.
"I'd say it's obviously an honor and a privileged to coach the Celtics, and we have recognized that. We have had a really enjoyable experience and have had so many good days," Stevens said Wednesday. "I feel like we've gotten better, put ourselves in a position to compete, and hopefully we continue to do so."
This is Stevens' seventh season manning the Boston bench, with the 43-year-old compiling a 318-245 regular season record heading into Wednesday's contest. Boston is in the playoff for the sixth straight season under Stevens.
In true Stevens fashion, he deflected much of the praise heaped upon him to those he works with in Boston.
"If you would have told me in July 2013 that the first seven years would have looked like this, I would have been thrilled," he said. "People have done an amazing job around me, and that has helped put us all in a position to have success."
Stevens thanked the Boston brass, from owner Wyc Grousbeck to president of basketball ops. Danny Ainge, for having an even keeled approach to building the team. He said that he signed his previous extension with the team following a 30-point blowout loss.
"I think that speaks to the ability of everyone to not ride the roller coaster of emotions we get caught up in in this sporting world," said Stevens. "Our goals are such that we love to compete for championships and do so regularly. The best path to do that is to be committed to growth."
There has been growth in each of Stevens' seasons in Boston, though the head coach admitted that last year's disappointing campaign was a bit of a step back. But this year's team, with their immediate chemistry on the floor leading to lots of wins, has revitalized Stevens a bit.
"All we're trying to do year to year is live up to the standards that were set long before us. That can be a challenge in many ways; not only the standards set in our organization but across town with the other teams in the city. At the end of the day we just try to get better every day and put our best foot forward," said Stevens. "There have been a lot more good days than not. Last year was really difficult, but this year has been reinvigorating in a ton of ways to a lot of us. I think we're all excited about where we are and where we're headed."
Though we don't know how long the extension runs, it's clear that it will be a while before the Celtics have another head coach. There are always rumors that Stevens may hop back into the college game, but he spoke about the stability he has had throughout his career, and he'll have even more of that with his new contract with the C's.
"One of the things that was really important to Tracy and I all the way through was, if we were going to do this coaching thing, to try as best to make it as stable as possible without moving too much. We've been incredibly blessed when you consider 13 years at Butler and now finishing my seventh year with the Celtics," he said.
"In coaching, you expect it to end with being let go or by being fired, so I'm never really focused on that. I'm just trying to focus on doing the job as well as I can," he added. "I appreciate who I work with, the players and the staff, and for me, being a head coach for 13 years, it's more about what we can do to help our staff to get to where they want to go and what can we do to help every single player that comes through here feel like they've improved. If you do those things, you usually have pretty good teams and can hopefully achieve something."
The road to the Celtics achieving their ultimate goal of bringing home Banner 18 will begin next week, when Boston will square off against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs
