Celtics ax has ripped Ime Udoka’s reputation to shreds, but Rockets job is a ticket back to the NBA’s elite

On June 22 last year, Ime Udoka manned the Celtics sideline as they took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Warriors.

Boston was just two wins away from a championship, and Udoka—the team’s head coach—had arguably the most coveted job in all of the sport.

Everything changed just three months later.

On September 23, Udoka was out of the blue suspended by the team for the entire 2022–23 season as he was revealed to be in an inappropriate relationship with a fellow Celtics staffer, previously revealed to be team service manager Kathleen Nimmo Lynch by DailyMail.com.

And while Udoka’s infractions in Boston ultimately cost him his job there — acting head coach Joe Mazzulla was given the job on a permanent basis in February — it’s taken him less than a year to rejoin a team.

The Rockets announced the 45-year-old defensive guru as their newest head coach on Tuesday night, signing him to a four-year, $28.5 million deal, according to the Houston Chronicle.

And he will try to rebuild the tattered reputation he left Beantown with.

The Athletic reported at the time that Udoka had made “undesirable” comments towards Lynch. The Celtics staffer was married with three children when the scandal broke, while Udoka was engaged to famed actress Nia Long at the time and has an 11-year-old son with him.

Long and Udoka have since split and his ex-fiancée and their son Kez are moving back to LA.

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said Wednesday the NBA had told him the league was “very comfortable” with Houston’s hiring of Udoka, saying the coach’s actions were “definitely something we can forgive” .

Udoka himself thought a little about the situation.

‘You know, I preach [accountability] to the players and so I have to take responsibility for my part in it, said Udoka at his opening press conference. “I went through leadership and sensitivity training and some counseling with my son to help him improve the situation I put him in.”

“Adversity can make you grow and I think I did that this year.”

The coach won’t get a chance to make amends with his former colleagues and fans in Boston, but he’s been given a lifeline in Houston.

The Rockets fired head coach Stephen Silas after three seasons in charge, and an all-time worst of 59–177.

And while Udoka has traded a battling team for a basement dweller, there are reasons to be optimistic about his new group in Houston.

Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., aged 21 and 22 respectively, are capable but not yet efficient scorers, and 20-year-old center Alperen Sengun is coming off a breakaway season in which he averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3, 9 assists per night.

That young core could become much, much stronger if the team capitalizes on its joint best odds (14 percent) to bring in No. 1 overall pick and generational talent Victor Wembanyama.

Not to mention, the Rockets could even lure 10-time All-Star James Harden, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski report that a reunion is “very much in the game.”

“We talked about capspace and some of the flexibility we have,” Udoka said at his opening press conference on Wednesday.

“I’m excited to be a part of that and look forward to the strides we can take in design and free agency.”

Udoka faces a challenge in getting this Rockets team (as it is currently assembled) into the Western Conference playoff mix, but the evidence shows that he is a fully capable coach.

In his first – and only – season as Celtics head coach, Udoka led Boston to a 51–31 record, the league’s best net score and joint best defensive score in the NBA.

They won over a Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving-led Nets team in the first round and held their nerve against the Bucks and Heat before losing to a seasoned Warriors group in six games during the Finals.

Prior to that season, Udoka was an assistant coach for the Spurs, Sixers and Nets, earning recognition as a talented “defensive coordinator” before landing in Boston.

“They’re going to allow me to coach and push them,” he said said prior to his first season with the Celtics.

“I’m going to be wary, and that’s what they like about me. They asked me about that. They want to be pushed, they want to be focused on winning, and that’s what you expect from your stars, the character they’ve shown.”

Udoka certainly did his job for him with Houston’s young roster as it had the second worst defensive rating in the league this season. Silas criticized the team’s energy after a defeat in February.

“They don’t give a damn about the defensive side,” Silas said during an angry press conference.

“They’re not going after it like they should. They don’t get into their man and fight over each other and don’t help each other. Don’t do what they have to do.’

Houston fans can expect Udoka to hold the team accountable.

“Understanding that with our age and our youth we will take some lumps, but my message to them will be that this is no excuse,” he said on Wednesday.

For all the strengths on Udoka’s resume, his sample size as head coach is small and it had only been six months since the Nets – who were trying to compete with Durant and Irving at the time – pulled out of hiring him late in the process. .

“You’re with someone for 12, 13 years, you think you know them,” Long shared The cut in February.

He is now known and back in the spotlight.