Boston Celtics rumors: Promoting Chauncey Billups as next head coach

NBA rumors are flying all over the place when it comes to candidates in line to replace Brad Stevens as the next head coach of the Boston Celtics.

From Sam Cassell to Jason Kidd to Becky Hammon, there are some intriguing choices out there, but one potential candidate who would check off all the boxes is former NBA player Chauncey Billups.

As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed on Wednesday, Stevens has extended his search to outside candidates that include Billups.

Also on that list are assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Charles Lee of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jamahl Mosely of the Dallas Mavericks and Ime Udoka of the Brooklyn Nets.  All interesting candidates, but the prize here for the Celtics would be Billups who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Chauncey Billups checks all the boxes for next head coach

Like Cassell, Billups is a former player with championship pedigree.  He has also played in Boston, as he was drafted by the team before being traded during his rookie season to the Toronto Raptors.  Not only that, but he also has a positive relationship with players that has another former Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell absolutely enthusiastic about the potential of Billups as the successor to Brad Stevens.

"“I love Chauncey,” Maxwell said during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston.  “If you think about Chauncey as a player, his relationship with different players, he was a guy who was instrumental in Kevin Garnett coming to Boston initially.  So, I think he’ll recruit.  He understands the younger players. …And this is what I really love about him: The fact that he bounced around.  He was in Boston initially, drafted by Rick Pitino, and then all over the NBA until he got to Detroit.…So, I think his relationship with players now, and then being in L.A. as an assistant coach, is really a value to who he is as a coach.”"

All great points by Maxwell, who went on to offer another valuable asset in hiring a coach like Billups and that is the enthusiasm he would bring to the bench as new head coach, which should both energize and excite the team’s top two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Boston Celtics needs Chauncey Billups as their next head coach

Besides understanding and relating to young stars like Tatum and Brown, what Maxwell highlights in his promotion of Billups is his ability to recruit players.

As he was a major factor in getting Garnett to Boston, having Billups in place should attract a lot of other players around the NBA as he does have that relationship given that he is a former player who just recently retired.

Could Billups attract players to Boston?

With the dent Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant put in the experience of playing in Boston, the Celtics need a reputation like Billups to revert that perception.  It’s not just the fact that he is African American, it is that championship and leadership factor he would bring.

He would be a player’s coach when it comes to Tatum and Brown, but he comes off as a no-nonsense type of presence who will get the best out of his players as he did during his time with the Detroit Pistons when he led them to an NBA championship.

In summary, he knows what it takes to win in the NBA, he understands what it takes to win as a team, and most importantly, he knows firsthand the process of growth and being in the right situation to utilize talent.

The next head coach of the Boston Celtics should be Chauncey Billups, it has to be Chauncey Billups.