NBA Rumors: Former Celtics HC Ime Udoka Vetted by Multiple Teams After Hawks Links

Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was reportedly one of the candidates the Atlanta Hawks considered to replace Nate MacMillan, per NBA reporter Marc Stein, before the team hired Quin Snyder.

The Hawks reportedly aren't the only team kicking the tires on Udoka, especially now that the Celtics have officially removed the "interim" tag from Joe Mazzulla and signed him to an extension.

According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy, "some NBA teams are now getting into the vetting process on the chance they might have an opening. People from three organizations have called here to discuss Udoka, with one looking for his phone number 'in case we decide to do something. We just want to be ready.'"

The Brooklyn Nets also had interest in Udoka earlier this season but reportedly declined to hire him for several factors, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Those factors included the timing of a potentially controversial hire coinciding with Kyrie Irving's suspension for amplifying an anti-semitic movie on his social media platforms and initially refusing to apologize or denounce antisemitism, the investigation into Udoka taking longer than expected and the public outcry after it was reported that Brooklyn was considering Udoka.

Instead, the Nets hired Jacque Vaughn as Steve Nash's replacement.

Udoka, 45, was excellent in his lone season as Boston's head coach, leading the team to a 51-31 record and a trip to the NBA Finals, where the Celtics fell to the Golden State Warriors. His hiring had looked like an inspired one before his suspension by the Celtics.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Udoka "used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman" and that the "power dynamic associated with a superior's improper relationship with a staff member was the primary finding and policy violation."

The team suspended him for the season in September, saying it would make a decision about his future at a later date. Boston seemingly made that decision when it made Mazzulla's position permanent in February.

Any Udoka hiring is going to require serious vetting from that organization, one executive told Bulpett, given the uncertainty around what made Boston decide to suspend the coach for an entire season and ultimately commit to Mazzulla on a long-term basis:

"A team is going to have to find out all that went on here, and what they find out can't be something that makes this a non-starter. What we know is it was bad enough that Boston suspended him and that he accepted it.

"Look, we can see the guy knows how to coach, but this is about more than just basketball. Teams are businesses, and you have to pay attention to how your customers are going to react. This is a very public business. At some point if Ime gets hired, he's going to have to sit down in front of the cameras at a press conference."

Prior to Boston, Udoka spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and a season each as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers and Nets.