Stewart: Why Brad Stevens Remains Celtics' Greatest Asset
Editor's note: Each day, the Felger & Massarotti crew exchanges emails to prepare for the topics and discussions that will be held from 2-6 p.m. on 98.5 The Sports Hub. On Friday, the Celtics' inactivity at the trade deadline figured to be a main talking point. Executive producer James Stewart advocated prior to the deadline that the team should stand pat. After the Celtics did exactly that, he's here to defend his opinion. Here's what Stewart wrote in the daily email chain:
By James Stewart, 98.5 The Sports Hub
With all due respect, I still stand with the opinion that Brad Stevens -- the coach -- is the best asset the Celtics have right now.
Smart managers in all businesses build around what they think their best asset is, and if this is Brad's vision of how a team is built, then Danny Ainge has to go with it. If Danny doesn't believe it, he needs to move on from Brad.
What was Isaiah Thomas before he had Brad as his coach? He was a sixth man in the NBA. Now he's second in the league in scoring.
Evan Turner came to the Celtics because he knew that Brad Stevens would help his career. Turner has now gone on to make $17 million per season with a team that has no idea how to use him.
Jae Crowder was nothing in Dallas. He was a throw-in to the Rajon Rondo deal. Now he's an NBA starter, who over the next three years will make less than the projected mid-level exception contract.
He's helped develop Marcus Smart into a legit sixth man, soon to be a starting NBA player.
Look at how well Jaylen Brown is developing at 19 years old. Don't be shocked if this coming Wednesday night he's playing important minutes against LeBron James on defense.
If you guys want to bring back Doc Rivers to coach all the A-holes that you mentioned, let's have at it. This is the same Rivers who didn't win a playoff series until his fourth season as Celtics head coach, and his eighth full season as an NBA coach.
I promise you, if a hack like Nate McMillan was coaching this team, they wouldn't be on a 53-win pace like they are right now.
One could argue the Pacers have a better roster on paper than the Celtics, and yet they're a .500 team.
Coaching does have an effect in the NBA. It does. Coaching especially has an effect on this Celtics team.
#TeamStandPat
James Stewart is the executive producer of the Felger and Massarotti Show, which airs 2-6 p.m. on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Find him on Twitter @IAmJamesStewart.
