Brad Stevens was atop every list for the Indiana basketball opening, even if prying him away from the Boston Celtics seemed like it would be nearly impossible. Ultimately, he didn’t make the jump back to college ball and his home state, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying by the Hoosiers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Stevens recently signed an extension with the Celtics, and denied interest in the IU job pretty bluntly as the rumors emerged. Per Woj’s new report, Indiana prepared a massive offer to the hometown hero.
“I was told that Indiana was prepared to offer him seven years, $70 million,” Woj said on ABC tonight, ahead of the Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors. “But he did not entertain it. Leaving the Boston Celtics for a college job, it doesn’t make sense. He’s in that high-six-, low-seven-million-dollar-year range anyway.”
The number is so gaudy, that Jalen Rose was basically apoplectic, joking about a raise for his former college teammate Juwan Howard at their alma mater, Michigan.
⚠️ Woj Bomb Alert 🚨
Indiana was prepared to offer Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens, seven-years and $70 million and was told he wasn’t interested, per @wojespn #BleedGreen
— Above The Parquet Celtics Podcast (@AboveTheParquet) April 18, 2021
At $10 million per year, Indiana would have paid Brad Stevens about $2 million more per year than the current highest-paid head coach according to USA Today‘s database, Kentucky’s John Calipari.
Stevens, a Zionsville, Indiana native, went 166-49 in six years at Butler, taking the Bulldogs to back to back national title game appearances in 2010 and 2011. He parlayed that into the Celtics job, where he has made the playoffs in each of his last six seasons, making the Eastern Conference in three of the last four seasons. The team has had a rocky 2020-21 season, leading some to speculate that he could make a jump back to the college game with the Indiana job, but it did not materialize.
The Hoosiers wound up hiring Mike Woodson, a former star player for the program and longtime NBA coach.
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