President Brad Stevens? Evan Turner identifies next job for Celtics boss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Brad Stevens is the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics. Evan Turner sees only one job that could possibly make sense for Stevens to leave Boston.
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“He should leave and run for president,” Turner said on the Celtics Talk Podcast. “To be honest with you, that’s the only thing he should leave for.”
Turner — talking with Celtics insider Chris Forsberg — joked about Stevens’ future in politics because of how well Stevens has transitioned from being a coach to an executive in Boston.
“I’m glad the Celtics didn’t lose him and he went elsewhere. You would have been battling against a monster,” Turner said. “He’s going to kill it so much for this position. How do you ever go back to coaching? What’s the point of leaving that?”
Indeed, outside of an appointment to the White House, Stevens won’t be leaving the Celtics’ front office. And Turner, who played under Stevens the coach from 2014-16 and worked as an assistant on Stevens’ staff in 2020-21, shared some fond memories of his former boss.
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“I remember when Brad came and saw me in Columbus when he was trying to sell (me on) the team,” Turner recalled of his free-agent meeting with Stevens in 2014. “I heard so much negativity towards my game and I was so down in the dumps. So it was really like the first time I got a flash of light, you feel me?
“So, you can be arrogant in a sense and be comfortable, but sometimes, you can’t take for granted acceptance and appreciation, and Brad showed me that in in like a really dark time. So, that was huge.”
Turner also recalled a moment early in his career in Boston, when he committed a careless turnover and shot a few four-letter words in the direction of Stevens after he had dome some coaching from the sidelines.
“So before you know it, I just get subbed out the game. And I’m like man, that was — damn, that was a big move,” Turner said. “And he’s chill, and like 35 seconds goes by. He walks up, he says, ‘Don’t ever talk to me like that again. Let’s be a professional. Go back in and go get him.’ And that was it.
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“It’s just a respect thing. I think Brad knew and vice versa. … I just think that was a big moment in communication with the coach. So, I really appreciated that and I appreciated he didn’t scream and didn’t try to hold it against me. He just kept helping me.”
Also in this episode:
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Turner reflects on Philadelphia’s decision to “trust the process” and blow up a promising young roster.
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Turner assesses Jaylen Brown’s play during Jayson Tatum’s injury absence.
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Turner expresses a belief that Tatum can beat the timeline on his rehab.
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Turner shares stories of playing with Isaiah Thomas after introducing his former teammate at The Tradition.
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The crazy story of the time a truck crashed into Turner’s swimming pool.
