You might think that the Boston Celtics might feel betrayed by their head coach last season given accountability was Ime Udoka’s calling card and his lack of it led to his season-long suspension for the team’s 2022-23 campaign.
But if you did, you would be wrong in at least some of the cases of players on Boston’s roster. Several such players spoke to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach about how they felt regarding Udoka possibly leaving the organization now led by interim head coach Joe Mazzulla to helm the Brooklyn Nets organization in the wake of Steve Nash’s firing, according to multiple sources.
“Obviously, we wish he was here,” related veteran Celtics guard Marcus Smart. “We have no control over that.”
Celtics Lab 151: On NBA (un)accountability and unseemly entanglements from Ime Udoka to Kyrie Irving with Dave Zirin https://t.co/iVZq9jXc3x
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 2, 2022
“It definitely sucks,” added the Flower Mound native, still sounding in the dark as most people are about the specific details of the reported improper relationship with a staffer and subsequent unwanted comments which led to Udoka’s suspension this offseason.
“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.”
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 2, 2022
“His name got slandered and slaughtered and it was ‘He’ll probably never coach again’,” protested Smart, who took issue with his former head coach perhaps helming one of the team’s biggest rivals in the Nets.
A similar sentiment was to be heard from Jaylen Brown, who suggested it’d have been “awesome” had Udoka been able to return to the team after the season.
“I’m just happy to see a Black head coach end up back on his feet,” he explained. “because I’ve seen situations where something like this might not have been the case.”
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 2, 2022
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