Celtics reportedly interview JB Bickerstaff for assistant coach opening

In the wake of assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry departing his Celtics gig for a job on the staff at Purdue University, the Celtics are busy trying to fill his spot on the bench with some experience. According to a report from Marc Berman of the New York Post, Brad Stevens interviewed former Grizzlies head coach JB Bickerstaff at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago this week.

Bickerstaff, 40, has spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Grizzlies before being let go by the franchise in April after amassing a 48-97 season over two years. He was also the interim head coach for the Rockets during the 2015-16 season, putting together a 37-34 record after being promoted following the firing of Kevin McHale 11 games into the year.

BSJ ANALYSIS

While Bickerstaff has not seen much success at the head coaching level, he's been considered one of the emerging coaching prospects in the league for much of the past decade.

He is the son of long-time NBA head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and he has been coaching for nearly two decades already started his coaching career almost immediately after his playing days at Minnesota came to an end in 2001. Since then, he has popped around the NBA, spending time on the coaching staff in Charlotte (2004-2007), Minnesota (2007-2011) and Houston (2011-2015) before working for the past three years in Memphis.

Shrewsberry had been with the Celtics for six years but had previously left Perdue for the NBA coaching gig. For a guy that likely wants to run his own college program one day, getting back into the college world was probably the clearest path for Shrewsberry to achieve that goal (since it allows him to return to recruiting circles, which should make him a more attractive hire eventually for some school). His departure will be a big loss for the Celtics, particularly since he was in charge of the team's defense for the past two seasons. However, bringing aboard a well-seasoned assistant like Bickerstaff would be a strong first step for the franchise to help bounce back from a disappointing 2018-19 season.