Philadelphia’s Jerome Allen, a Celtics coaching candidate, is well respected by Boston brass and players
His familiarity with former coach Brad Stevens, who will conduct the hiring process, could be a bonus.
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Why not Jerome Allen?
As a Boston Celtics assistant coach the past six seasons, Allen knows the inner workings of the organization and has a bright future in it.
The former Penn coach and Philadelphia native will interview for the Celtics head coaching job, which became vacant Wednesday when Brad Stevens was promoted to president of basketball operations.
In Allen, the Celtics would get someone who worked closely with Stevens for the last half dozen seasons. He would be someone the players respect. He knows first-hand the structure and philosophy Stevens implemented. He would provide his own wrinkle to the team.
Allen turned down an assistant coaching job last offseason with the Dallas Mavericks. He’s very much interested in becoming the Celtics’ next coach. His familiarity with Stevens, who will conduct the hiring process, could be a bonus.
Asked what makes him prepared for this job , Allen, who has no NBA head-coaching experience, said, “The old saying is, ‘What you do while you are waiting for the opportunity pretty much dictates your ability to be able to flourish in that role.’
“For six years, I either sat behind [Stevens] or next to him and watched him not only work, I watched him prepare. I watched him show-in to other people. Watched how he operated.”
Stevens hired Allen in 2015 to help elevate the program, and Allen has the support of Stevens and Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ former president of basketball operations.
He’s worked closely with young cornerstones Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Marcus Smart, and former Celtics Kyrie Irving, Marcus Morris, and Terry Rozier.
In addition to coaching six seasons at Penn, Allen was player-coach for Snaidero Udine in Italy.
Lloyd Pierce, a former Atlanta Hawks head coach and former Sixers assistant, is reportedly among the other candidates for the job. Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups are also reportedly expected to be on the list of candidates.