Marcus Smart Sounds Off on Ime Udoka Rumored to Coach Rival Nets

Getty Head coach Ime Udoka of the Boston Celtics speaks to Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics in the first half against the Miami Heat

The Brooklyn Nets surprised everyone hours before they tipped off against the Chicago Bulls at home on Tuesday by agreeing to part ways with their head coach Steve Nash. Obviously, Nash had been rumored to be on his way out for a while now, but less than 20 hours after the team won a game against the Indiana Pacers and mere hours before playing the Bulls was a surprising one. However, it got even more exciting when within an hour of the news, Nash would be fired, reports of the team’s next head coach started to be shared. 

Ime Udoka, who was a member of the Nets coaching staff under Steve Nash before being hired by the Boston Celtics, was the name that was reported as potentially being the next Nets head coach in the 24-48 hours following the announcement. Nets general manager Sean Marks refuted the notion that they had made a coaching decision already, but it still seems that Udoka has been primed for the position all along. Which is surprising given that he is still technically the head coach of the Celtics and is currently serving a year-long suspension issued by the team. 

Marcus Smart on Ime Udoka Possibly Coaching Brooklyn Nets

When Udoka was suspended, the reports involved him breaking team rules and having an improper relationship with a subordinate team employee. Details since the suspension have been few, but according to Marcus Smart, the team had been told that Udoka would be returning for the Celtics next season and has now learned that he will likely be coaching the Nets instead. Smart spoke to the Boston Globe on Wednesday about the confusing situation with Udoka. 

“Obviously, we wish he was here,” Smart told the Globe 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.”

That’s one of the confusing parts of the entire Udoka situation. As a rookie head coach, he led the Celtics to the NBA Finals even after the team had a slow start to the season. For him to be suspended the entirety of the year with a team that has championship potential was surprising and suggested there was more to the story. Now, just a few months later, he is able to join the Nets and coach as soon as this weekend? 

“His name got slandered and slaughtered and it was, ‘He’ll probably never coach again,'” Smart said. “And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals?”

Smart on Facing Udoka as an Opposing Head Coach

The Celtics are also able to ask for compensation from the Nets for Udoka to become their head coach, but reports say they won’t ask for anything in return. While there seems to be more to the story in Boston, fans aren’t getting the details, and neither are the players. 

“We obviously thought he’d be back, but obviously the team and organization felt a different way,” Smart continued. “Unfortunately, that’s the business side of it and we have to deal with it.

“Now he’s possibly going to take a job right down the street from us and be coaching the same guys we were trying to beat to get to where we were last year.”