The Celtics suffered a coaching loss on Monday afternoon when assistant coach Damon Stoudemire informed the team he was taking the Georgia Tech head coaching job.
According to ESPN, Stoudemire will get a five-year deal to become the school's new head coach. He will be leaving the team immediately and according to the Globe, there are no plans to fill the role immediately.
Karalis' reaction
There's a temptation to see this as someone jumping ship. Someone will certainly say that Stoudemire looked around, didn't like what he saw, and bailed before they started taking on water. I don't think this is really the case.
Stoudemire took the job for his friend, Ime Udoka. He was the head coach at Pacific, turning the program around and going 23-10 and winning WCC coach of the year before Udoka came calling. Once Udoka was suspended, there were real questions about how the rest of the staff would react.
In the name of continuity, the staff remained intact with Joe Mazzulla being elevated. Still, no matter what happens this season, there will almost certainly be some changes as Mazzulla builds a staff more catered to his needs. The offseason will certainly bring coaching staff changes. Stoudemire probably saw that writing on the wall and decided to look for other opportunities. Unfortunately, this is the time of year that those openings get filled.
The loss hurts the Celtics because Stoudemire filled in for Mazzulla during absences and ejections. Mazzulla leaned on Stoudemire, and both could be seen talking on the sidelines during games. While the Celtics would obviously hope there is no need for that any further this year, someone will have to be in line for that just in case. It does shake up the staff's responsibilities.
The departure also takes away Marcus Smart's player development coach. Stoudemire is a respected, battle-tested former NBA point guard who also served as a sounding board for Smart.
"Just giving me advice. Things that he sees that I probably wouldn't be able to see on the court," Smart told BSJ earlier this year. "Things when he played, little tips here and there to make my life and the game easier for me. Things that he sees, when you've got a guy with his credentials, well respected and knows the game, you kind of tend to listen to him ... to be able to get some criticism, constructively. We don't take it personally. Both ends. If I see some things I don't like from him, I'm like, 'hey can we try this? These things.' We're very open. That trust right there and that communication allows us to have the relationship that we do."
Said Stoudemire, 'Me and Marcus, I think we've developed a chemistry and friendship and I think he trusts me, so he's allowed me to coach him and talk to him, even when it's not going his way. I think that we've that developed familiarity. Therefore, the biggest thing about coaching is being honest and I'm able to be honest with him."
It's not ideal to lose that kind of voice for Smart. I'm not going to pretend Smart will be lost without Stoudemire, but losing a coach who played at that level in the NBA hurts the franchise because he's the only one on the staff to reach that kind of level. It's something the team respects.
"Damon one of my favorite people in the organization," Jaylen Brown said when Stoudemire stepped in for Mazzulla in December. "Just a veteran, a lot of experiences in different places -- playing, coaching, assistant coaching. So Damon's one of my favorite people. It was fun to go out there and get a win for him."
The loss of an assistant coach isn't usually a tremendous deal, but in this particular case, it's one that stings. He is well-respected and his experience in the league gave him a strong standing with the guys. The timing of it isn't ideal, but it is what it is with college openings.