If Boston’s front office generated some murmurs about a lack of depth in the wake of major offseason trades, there’s one bench they’ve crowded bodies with: the coaches’.
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Former NBA coach and commentator Jeff Van Gundy made headlines for his appearance at the Auerbach Center this week as he jumpstarts a role with the Celtics as Senior Consultant…whatever that means. Including Van Gundy, the Celtics now have 13 coaches (including 6 assistants) supporting Joe Mazzulla in his sophomore campaign.
That number is a noticeable spike from the small circle that kicked off the 2022-23 season.
Growing Mazzulla’s staff of assistants was an obvious need coming out of a disappointing finish last year. The head coach’s growing pains took the spotlight in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philadelphia, when Mazzulla drew criticism for his clock management and timeout strategy. Months before, the locker room hierarchy began to unravel following the departure of assistant Damon Stoudamire. By the time the Celtics fought their way back to a Game 7 against the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, players Marcus Smart and Al Horford appeared to command team huddles during timeouts.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens and, if one is generous, Mazzulla appear to be betting on a Brain Gain in Boston, flooding the film and weight rooms with highly experienced assistants, old Garden favorites, and even a friend from their superstar Jayson Tatum’s Duke days.
In addition to Van Gundy, there’s former Celtic Sam Cassell, who spent 14 years coaching in Washington, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. There’s Charles Lee, who served as an assistant in Atlanta and Milwaukee over the last nine years. And there’s Amile Jefferson, former college teammate of Tatum who just graduated to his first NBA staff with Boston.
So many fine basketball minds should be a great thing, right? Stevens has built himself the coaches of the Round Table, a joint assistants of staff-style war room to ensure Wyc Grousbeck’s luxury-laden roster never again loses to an 8-seed in May.
But only a green face-painted fool would underestimate the Celtics’ capability to find dysfunction, and it exists here. Is it so unlikely that Mazzulla’s assistants would seek to overthrow his power in favor of their own age and experience? Nope, just ask Paul Westhead. Is it equally unlikely that Van Gundy, whose sharp tongue almost never lashed against current NBA coaches on ESPN broadcasts, would entertain the idea of taking over the helm of the most talented roster in the NBA?
The Celtics literally cannot afford that mess this season.
Reports out of training camp thus far detail a highly-motivated team ready to rip out the hearts of Milwaukee and anyone in the West. With everyone’s eyes firmly locked on Banner 18, it’s reasonable to expect this expanded staff to stay the course.
And yet…“too many cooks in the kitchen” is a cliché for a reason. It’s not because the meal tastes so good. It would behoove Stevens to keep a close eye on the hierarchy on the coaching bench. This many sous chefs could help a young cook serve a meal perfectly flambéed, but they could also start a grease fire.