Boston takes chance on 36-year-old Butler coach

BOSTON — The Green are getting greener.

With aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on their way to the Brooklyn Nets and Doc Rivers coaching the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics hired 36-year-old Brad Stevens from Butler as their next head coach Wednesday.

The move turns the tradition-bound franchise over to a mentor who is younger than Garnett and wasn’t yet born when Bill Russell won his 11th NBA championship in 1969 — or even when John Havlicek added two more in the 1970s. It’s the first time the Celtics have hired a college coach since Rick Pitino in 1997, and their first coach with no NBA experience of any kind since Alvin “Doggie” Julian gave way to Red Auerbach in 1950.

“Though he is young, I see Brad as a great leader who leads with impeccable character and a strong work ethic” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said in a release. “His teams always play hard and execute on both ends of the court. Brad is a coach who has already enjoyed lots of success, and I look forward to working with him towards Banner 18.”

Stevens has spent the last six years as the coach of Butler, leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship games in 2010 and ‘11. He has a career winning percentage of .772 and never won fewer than 22 games in a season.

He takes over a team that is three seasons removed from an appearance in the NBA finals; the Celtics won their unprecedented 17th championship in 2008. But with Garnett and Pierce showing signs of slowing down in this year’s playoffs, when Boston was eliminated by the New York Knicks in the first round, Ainge has decided to rebuild.