Ex-Celtics player says Kara Lawson will be the team's next head coach

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A day after the Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the franchise made some dramatic moves that could change the direction of the storied team. 

Former player Danny Ainge announced he was stepping down as president of basketball operations after 18 years and will be replaced by head coach, Brad Stevens, whose first order of business will be hiring his successor. 

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Stevens gives up the coaching reins after eight years on the Celtics' sideline. Former Celtics player Brian Scalabrine appeared on NBC Sports Boston Wednesday and said he believes Duke University's women's basketball coach and former Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson is the best candidate to replace Stevens. 

"I think they are going to hire Kara Lawson," Scalabrine said. "I know the organization thinks she is unbelievable. I know the players respect her, which she went down to Duke to coach the women’s team there. I am just putting A + B = C here. To me, I think they hire Kara Lawson."

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Scalabrine said that Lawson is "elite at what she does" and he said within five minutes of talking to her, he realized that she was head coaching material.

"She’s insanely good as a coach," Scalabrine said. "It’s not one of those things where, ‘Well, she’s good for a female.' No, no, no. She walked into practice and she commanded practice right from the jump. She was giving people tips and people’s jaws were dropping… The issue with her going to Duke and she didn’t get the chance to coach this year because of COVID.

Scalabrine continued: "I started asking the other coaches about her and it was authentically like she is on a completely different level as a basketball coach. I am glad she went out there and took the Duke job because she was like, ‘I want to be a head coach. I want head-coaching experience.’

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Scalabrine went on to say that he believes she might be the most qualified candidate for the job.

"When you think about these players and who they already know and you’re bringing in someone the players respect and Brad [Stevens] respects, to me it makes the most sense," he added.

Lawson, a former 13-year star in the WNBA, served on Stevens' staff during the 2019-2020 season.