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Georges Niang, Fred Hoiberg, and an offer from the Celtics?

Fred Hoiberg

A couple times this summer, we’ve talked about Fred Hoiberg and the chance that his next move as a coach is to the NBA.

We weren’t alone, either.

Not after Brad Stevens took Boston’s head coaching job. Not when one of the topics of conversation that popped up on every radio spot that I did involved which coach could be the next to make the jump from college to the NBA. Hoiberg was the easy guess there.

But was Hoiberg closer to leaving that we realized? Take this quote that Georges Niang offered up to KIMT during an interview on Sunday:

“After Brad Stevens got the job, [Hoiberg] texted me and said, ‘Boston offered me the job but I turned it down’. He had enough of Boston dealing with me. He’s a funny character like that. Whatever he has in his plans, that’s for him, but I’m almost positive he’s going to stay around here and be dedicated to Iowa State for the next couple of years.”

The context here is unclear. While reading this literally makes it seem like Boston actually offered Boston the job, the other interpretation is that Niang was simply offering up an example of how Hoiberg is a “funny character”. And while this Boston Globe article tossed out Hoiberg as a candidate for the job, I haven’t talked to anyone that believes the Celtics went after Hoiberg before Stevens.

So while Hoiberg turning down the Celtics would be a good sign for Iowa State -- maybe he’s not as set on getting back into the NBA? -- I don’t think we can take much out of this beyond Hoiberg and Niang having a similar sense of humor.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.