Getty Ime Udoka, Boston Celtics
Since being suspended and ultimately released by the Boston Celtics, Ime Udoka has been out of the NBA.
However, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the former head coach could make a return to the sidelines next season, with the Houston Rockets reportedly interested in Udoka as their next head coach.
ESPN Sources: Among the prominent candidates in the Rockets’ search will be former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Lakers coach Frank Vogel. If Raptors coach Nick Nurse becomes available, he’ll be a serious consideration too.
“ESPN Sources: Among the prominent candidates in the Rockets’ search will be former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Lakers coach Frank Vogel. If Raptors coach Nick Nurse becomes available, he’ll be a serious consideration too,” Wojnarowski Tweeted.
Udoka’s tenure with the Celtics came to an abrupt end, as he was suspended shortly before pre-season training camp got underway due to breaching organizational policy. Joe Mazzulla was then placed in charge of the team on an interim basis, but Brad Stevens moved to make that switch permanent during the All-Star break following an impressive season.
Udoka clearly faces an uphill battle to find his next opportunity in the NBA, as both Vogel and Atkinson are talented and established coaches in their own right.
Brad Stevens Heaps Praise on Joe Mazzulla
During a rare press conference, Stevens discussed the job Mazzulla has done since taking the reigns as the Celtics’ head coach this season.
“He wants to improve,” Stevens said. “He demands that of the team. I think he does a good job of picking what the emphasis needs to be in the big picture and also in those small moments, the snippets of times when something is waning a little; he does a good job of figuring that out and making that a priority to improve. Obviously, every team has its ups and downs, but if you watched us in the last two weeks and the vast majority of our play, I think we’ve gotten better and that’s encouraging because we struggled out of the gate after the all-star break and we could’ve limped (into the playoffs).”
Mazzulla led the Celtics to a 57-25 record throughout the regular season, and now, Celtics fans will be hoping he can replicate and improve upon the postseason success his predecessor enjoyed when he took Boston to the NBA Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Joe Mazzulla Ready to Embrace Playoff Challenge
Brad Stevens said Joe Mazzulla is a strength entering the playoffs for the #Celtics. Has he proven himself?
Full w/ @Joe_Sway @RealBobManning:
t.co/RWKmjEb1Ms
Shortly after the Celtics’ victory over the Atlanta Hawks, in what was Boston’s final game of the 2022-23 regular season, Heavy on Sports’ Steve Bulpett caught up with Mazzulla to ask about his thoughts entering the playoffs.
“Listen, you can’t run away from the fact that the playoffs have a different consequence,” Mazzulla said. “But the bigger things are, the more simple they are. So my goals are to do the same things I’ve done all season — rely on my staff, rely on the players, and rely on the experience that I’ve had because I’ve worked for great people…I’ve been a part of a lot of playoff series. That doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be mistakes made, but I have a lot of good people around me between staff and players. Our locker room is really intact, and I think that’s just as important as anything else.”
The Celtics will play their first playoff game on Saturday, April 15, but won’t know who their opponent is until later this week, when the Miami Heat and Hawks face off in the seventh vs. eighth seed play-in battle.
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Disgraced Ex-Celtics Coach Nears Return to The Sidelines: Report