BOSTON — Celtics coach Ime Udoka is facing the possibility of serious discipline — including a potentially “significant suspension” — because of a violation of team rules, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski late Wednesday night.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania later reported that Udoka “had an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff,” which is deemed a violation of the Celtics’ code of conduct.
Udoka is not believed to be in jeopardy of being fired, per Wojnarowski, and a final decision on the length of his suspension could be made as soon as Thursday. Wojnarowski said the Celtics have considered suspending Udoka for the entirety of the 2022-23 season during their internal discussions.
“I do think there’s clarity looming on what the possible length of this suspension will be, perhaps in the next 24-48 hours,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s SportsCenter late Wednesday. “I do think that’s coming. I think this has been moving quickly here in recent days.”
Wojnarowski clarified that this is an internal Celtics matter and not a league issue.
If Udoka is suspended, which seems likely at this stage, Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla could be a candidate for an interim role, ESPN reported.
Udoka is entering his second season as coach of the Celtics after an impressive first year in 2021-22, when he guided the C’s to a midseason turnaround that resulted in a run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. He replaced Brad Stevens, who moved to the front office to become the Celtics’ president of basketball operations after Danny Ainge retired and later moved to become an executive with the Utah Jazz.
Celtics training camp begins next Tuesday — with the team’s media day scheduled for Monday — ahead of their first preseason game on Oct. 2 and their regular season opener on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
