While the transgressions committed by Ime Udoka led to severe consequences with his ultimate dismissal from the Celtics, his former players have continued to hope for the best for their former coach.
Jaylen Brown has expressed all season that he hoped Udoka would land on his feet. Some seemed to expect Udoka would even be back with the Celtics after he served a season-long suspension for violations of team policy, reportedly for an improper intimate relationship with a female member of the organization.
On Monday, Udoka – who was officially dismissed by the Celtics in February when they promoted Joe Mazzulla from interim to full-time head coach – reportedly found a new job as the new head coach of the Houston Rockets. In Boston, the news was received well from members of the Celtics. It prompted Mazzulla, who worked under Udoka for one season, to reach out to him. He thinks it’s meaningful that Udoka is back in the league.
“I’m happy for him in the sense that I think it’s important,” Mazzulla said. “Second chances are important. Grace is important. Forgiveness is important. I’m a product of a second chance and I think it’s important to have that in society. So I texted him congratulations and that I was grateful just for the time that I had to learn from him as a coach.”
Celtics players were focused on trying to close out the Hawks in Game 5, but echoed similar sentiments.
“I’m happy for him,” Derrick White said. “I definitely wish him the best and I think he’s gonna do a good job out there.”
Added Al Horford: “I think it’s good. I think it’s good for him. I’m happy for him.”
The Celtics weren’t investing much energy in it during Tuesday morning’s shootaround as they continued to try to move on from the saga that’s followed them all year. Horford was short. White said he saw the news on Twitter, but his mind was on the Hawks.
Still, all season long, the Celtics have had to manage their emotions as they processed the departure of Udoka, who led them to the NBA Finals in his one season in Boston.
It came on the eve of training camp, when Udoka was suddenly suspended. Details were scarce, which frustrated some players. Then, in early November, Udoka emerged as the frontrunner to be the new head coach of the Nets after the firing of Steve Nash, which confused some players. Horford recognized his teammates’ displeasure then as a “real thing,” a potential distraction they had to work through. The Nets ultimately decided not to hire Udoka, instead promoting Jacque Vaughn.
The decision to remove the interim tag from Mazzulla and cut ties with Udoka just before the All-Star break intended to lift a cloud of uncertainty over the franchise as the playoffs loomed. But that didn’t take away the players’ love for Udoka, which sustained despite his off-court actions. They still hoped to see him thrive and find another opportunity, even if it wasn’t with them. The level of communication Udoka had with his former team throughout this season is unclear.
“I didn’t text him or anything, but I definitely wish him the best and want the best for him,” White said.
The Rockets reportedly conducted an investigation with the league office and Celtics and were not deterred by hiring Udoka.
Udoka will now take over a rebuilding Rockets team that is one of the youngest in the NBA and has the best chance of winning the draft lottery and selecting generational talent Victor Wembanyama. From a basketball standpoint, the hiring is a coup for the Rockets.
“I think he’ll do a good job of changing the culture there,” White said. “That’s just the type of guy and coach he is, and so he’s going to do a good job there and help them turn around.”
Surprise guest
As the Celtics went through a light shootaround on Tuesday morning ahead of Game 5 against the Hawks, there was an interesting guest spotted watching at the Auerbach Center.
Stephen Silas – who was fired as the head coach of the Rockets two weeks ago – was sitting alongside Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens on a perch above the court. That alone wasn’t surprising. Stevens is friends with many coaches in basketball, and often hosts them for visits. But the timing was curious a day after Udoka was reportedly hired to replace Silas.
Could Silas be a candidate to join Mazzulla’s coaching staff next season? Earlier this season, the Celtics lost assistant Damon Stoudamire, who was hired as the head coach at Georgia Tech, but they didn’t replace him. The 49-year-old Silas – the son of Celtics great Paul Silas – is well-respected in the league and would be a good fit. Mazzulla, naturally, wasn’t sure yet how his staff might change after the season, between incoming coaches or the possibility of current members – who are friends with Udoka – joining him in Houston.
Murray serves suspension
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray was suspended for Tuesday’s Game 5 for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official after he bumped a referee at the conclusion of Game 4. Bogdan Bogdanović replaced him in the starting lineup.
Murray – who averaged 25.3 points per game for the Hawks in the first four games of the series –cited some history with referee Gediminas Petraitis that led to the incident but took accountability for his actions.
“A lot of ignoring, a lot of brushing me off, brushing my teammates off when asking questions of how we could be better,” Murray told reporters at Hawks morning shootaround. “And even just with that individual, it goes back to San Antonio, where, I don’t know why that person treated me the way he treated me over the years. ..
“I’m a grown man, and I hold my own and I take full responsibility for not being able to play for my teammates, and the fans and just the organization as a whole,” Murray continued. “But at the end of the day, there’s a lot that led up to that, and I think a lot of players could relate to those frustrations.”