By the end of the Celtics’ season, when they fell in Game 7 of the East Finals to the Heat, the coaching staff looked completely overhauled compared to the end of the 2022 NBA Finals. Ime Udoka was suspended then dismissed, Will Hardy was off to the Utah and Damon Stoudamire left midseason for the Georgia Tech gig.
So while the criticism was loud for C’s coach Joe Mazzulla, he was put in a difficult situation, and not just because he was thrust into the role at the start of training camp. Once the Celtics’ season came to an end, he also saw former Udoka assistants also leave for Houston. That meant the C’s needed to bolster Mazzulla’s coaching staff this summer — and they did just that.
The two notable names coming to Boston this summer are ex-76ers assistant Sam Cassell and ex-Bucks assistant Charles Lee. Both bring years of NBA coaching experience to the Celtics, and having some fresh voices behind-the-scenes should be beneficial for next season.
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“You can never have too much experience; you can never too much perspective,” Mazzulla said of the assistants. “We have a couple of guys that have been in different programs and have coached high-level players, high-level defense, been on high-level teams. So just to get that experience and get that perspective, I think it’s great to have.”
Lee comes from the Bucks having also previously coached for the Hawks. He was a top assistant under Mike Bundenholzer. He became available on the job market after he interviewed for several head-coaching gigs around the league. The C’s also added other support staff in guys like Amile Jefferson and Phil Pressey.
Cassell should be a familiar name for Celtics fans as he was part of the 2008 title team as a bench guard. The former All-Star brings a key component to Mazzulla’s staff as a former player, which was a similar role Stoudamire held in Boston. That relatability should click well in the C’s locker room, and Cassell has experience coaching other stars.
“I’ve been in this game as a long time as a player and as a coach,” Cassell said. “I think the thing I’m going to bring to this team is the relaxation part of it. Just the one thing about this league is there is pressure. Sometimes you have to have fun with pressure, as well. Pressure bursts pipe but it also makes diamonds. That’s my whole mindset of it: the pressure, you have fun with pressure. That’s all.”
Perhaps most importantly for Mazzulla himself, he’ll have a conventional offseason where he can relax but also plan for next season. Udoka’s departure from the C’s organization has been well-documented; the situation also put Mazzulla in an impossible position as a first-time head coach. Now, he’ll have a chance to push reset this summer while looking to the future.
“Any time — regardless if you get thrown into it or if you have it after a season — you always want to figure out what you did well, where you can get better,” Mazzulla said. “And, obviously with some small roster changes, there’ll be some things that we have an opportunity to do things a little bit different. So it’s just a matter of taking a step back, figuring out what went really well, figuring out what we can do better, and then how we go about doing that.”
