For several days last week suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka looked to be on his way to join the Brooklyn Nets.
There was only one significant obstacle in place, and most figured all parties involved would work through it.
Ultimately, due to public scrutiny, the Nets opted to replace Steve Nash with Jacque Vaughn instead.
In the aftermath many wondered if this was a signal that Udoka wouldn’t get a second chance in the NBA any time soon.
It would appear that is not in fact the case.
According to Ric Bucher of Fox Sports, another squad is also interested in Udoka’s services.
“A team looking to make a coaching change that isn’t already dealing with a toxic environment, however, might not be as fazed by the circumstances that led to Udoka’s suspension in Boston,” he reported.
“In fact, one team apparently wasn’t. An Eastern Conference GM declined to identify the team but said, ‘I know for a fact a team was gathering background intel on Ime a week after everything happened in Boston,’ he said. ‘Ime was going to be their guy if they fired their current coach.’”
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski seems to back that general sentiment.
Woj: “[Ime Udoka] will coach again in the NBA, he may coach as soon if not this season somewhere else next season. I think plenty of teams, just in preparation, have started to do their due diligence on the Udoka situation.”#NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/QJ4ezEa7O3
— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) November 9, 2022
“[Ime Udoka] will coach again in the NBA, he may coach as soon if not this season somewhere else next season,” he said.
“I think plenty of teams, just in preparation, have started to do their due diligence on the Udoka situation. Certainly Brooklyn did.
“I think for Brooklyn, there was nobody telling Brooklyn that they could not hir Ime Udoka,” Wojnarowski continued.
“They made a decision about what made sense for them with this timing. I think under different conditions, there’s a very good chance — almost certainly — Ime Udoka would have been the Nets coach.”
At this point, the scandal surrounding Udoka has been covered ad nauseam. Everyone knows the ugly specific details of what transpired and why Boston took such a hard stance.
The video speaks for itself. Jokic is an MVP on and off the court. https://t.co/7MmyhGX8nG
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 11, 2022
It will be interesting to see where everyone goes from here. Clearly the consensus around the league is that Udoka will inevitably coach again somewhere.
Where will that “somewhere” ultimately be?
Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
