Will History Repeat Itself for the Celtics?

Paul Pierce (right) and assistant coach Sam Cassell are among the steady reminders from the '08 title team at practice, a consistent reminder of the company this current squad should want to join.

BOSTON — Give Brad Stevens credit.

He has never won an NBA title, nor has he assembled a team that was good enough, mentally tough enough or talented enough, to do so.

But I give Stevens, the Celtics president of basketball operations, props for being smart enough to know what he doesn’t know, and brave enough to seek out ways to fill that knowledge void.

What he has done in a sorta, kinda low-key manner, was slow-drip the teachings from the last great Celtics team - the 2008 title squad - on to what should be the next great era of Celtics basketball.