Report: Celtics seeking permission to speak with Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga

Sep 28, 2022 - 12:30 PM

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According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Boston Celtics are “seeking permission” to speak with LA Clippers assistant coach Jay Larranaga about joining Joe Mazzulla’s staff for the upcoming season.

Larranaga first joined the NBA with the Celtics back in 2012. Boston interviewed him for the head coaching position when Doc Rivers left, but eventually landed on Brad Stevens. Despite that, Larranaga remained with the team on Stevens’ staff and was the lead assistant for seven years.

He stayed with Boston all the way up until last season. Once Ime Udoka was hired, Larranaga and the Celtics parted ways, and he joined the Clippers. When it was announced that he would not return to the Celtics on Udoka’s staff, he received offers to be the head coach at Georgia Tech and George Mason. Instead, he joined Ty Lue’s staff in Los Angeles.

The news of Boston’s interest comes less than a week after the team announced that Udoka would be suspended for the entirety of the upcoming season. He had a relationship with a team staff member that was deemed to be a violation of the organization’s code of conduct.

In turn, the Celtics appointed Mazzulla as the interim head coach. Larranaga and Mazzulla worked together in Boston for two years before Udoka took up the open head coaching position.

Since interviewing for Boston’s open head coaching position in 2013, Larranaga has received consideration for other jobs, too. Back in 2018, he interviewed for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks head coaching positions.

As it stands, the Celtics haven’t made a decision about Udoka’s long-term future in Boston, By bringing Larranaga back into the fold, Stevens would be adding another face that he trusts and someone that has been heavily considered for other head coaching gigs in the past.