Some Celtics players disappointed that Ime Udoka will be coaching elsewhere
BOSTON -- Ime Udoka was suspended by the Boston Celtics for the entire 2022-23 season, but less than two months later, he's going to get another shot at being a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets fired Steve Nash on Tuesday and are reportedly set to hire Udoka, who was suspended by Boston in late September for having an improper relationship with a team employee. There are a lot more details on the matter, but the Celtics are keeping those under wraps.
The Celtics brass also don't seem to mind that Udoka is heading to a division rival, and reportedly won't even seek compensation for the man who coached the team to the NBA Finals in his first season on the bench. If you're surprised that the Celtics are letting Udoka go to Brooklyn, you're not alone.
So are a few Celtics players.
"Obviously, we wish he was here," Boston guard Marcus Smart told the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach on Wednesday. "We have no control over that. It definitely sucks. I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him [not] to be a coach anywhere else, obviously."
"I'm just happy to see a Black head coach end up back on his feet," Jaylen Brown told the Globe. "Because I've seen situations where something like this might not have been the case."
"[Udoka's] name got slandered and slaughtered and it was 'He'll probably never coach again,'" Smart continued. "And a couple of months later now he's possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals? It's tough. It makes no sense. But we can't control that. We have to control what we can and I love the team here. I love the coaching staff. I love Joe."
That "Joe" that Smart is referencing is interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, who was on Brad Stevens' coaching staff before Udoka arrived in Boston. The Celtics are 4-2 under Mazzulla in the early goings of the 2022-23 season.
It sounds like Smart's frustrations center around the fact that Celtics players still don't know everything about the situation(s) that led to Udoka's suspension. Many believed that Udoka would be back on the bench after his suspension was up.
"It really doesn't matter what we say [to the front office]," Smart said. "We can voice our opinion, but I'm sure it's going to be, 'Yeah, we hear you.' And that's it. I'm sure they know how certain people feel. But it is tough, because there's only so much that they can say. It's a tough spot for everybody. It just sucks all around."
The Celtics obviously can't share everything in order to protect the employees involved and their privacy. It's the right thing to do, but it's putting players in a tough spot. And in letting Udoka leave for Brooklyn, the Celtics are washing their hands of the former head coach and letting another team handle the fallout when the details do emerge.
But it sounds like some players were under the impression that Udoka would be back, and they're now surprised and disappointed that he's instead going to be coaching their division rival in Brooklyn.
