NBA Rumors: Former Celtics HC Ime Udoka Could Interest Raptors, Rockets
Ime Udoka may not be away from the NBA for more than one season.
Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reported the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets could be interested in the former Boston Celtics head coach depending on how their respective situations play out.
In January, Shams Charania of The Athletic noted Toronto and head coach Nick Nurse could part ways following the 2022-23 campaign. Bulpett cited a league executive who said Udoka would be a candidate for the Raptors if that were to happen.
What's more, the same report listed Nurse and Udoka as potential candidates in Houston if the Rockets move on from Stephen Silas.
Silas is just 55-173 as the head coach of the Rockets, which is an ugly record, even if there isn't much talent to work with on a rebuilding roster. As for Nurse, he led the Raptors to the 2019 championship and is widely considered one of the best coaches in the league.
Yet Toronto has been among the NBA's most disappointing teams this season at 37-38 and is battling for a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Udoka looked to be one of the most promising young coaches in the league last season when he led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year with the head position after previous assistant jobs with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
Boston surely planned on keeping him as the head coach for years to come after it fell two wins short of a championship with a core in place starring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but things changed when it suspended him for the season for "violations of team policies" in September.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported an investigation from an independent law firm discovered Udoka "used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate before the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman, an element that significantly factored into the severity of his suspension."
Wojnarowski also noted "the power dynamic associated with a superior's improper relationship with a staff member was the primary finding and policy violation cited in the law firm's report."
Boston named Joe Mazzulla the interim head coach following the suspension and then gave him the permanent position in February.
It seemed like the Nets were going to hire Udoka at one time this season after his suspension with Boston, but Charania reported in November that changed "due to several factors" that included public "outcry."
Brooklyn instead hired Jacque Vaughn.
