Woj: Celtics coach Ime Udoka facing possible suspension for violation of organizational guidelines
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There is still not much information publicly available regarding the Boston Celtics' suspension of Ime Udoka for a full season. All we really know is that there
Stephen A. Smith: Celtics Docked Ime Udoka Half His Pay
There is still not much information publicly available regarding the Boston Celtics' suspension of Ime Udoka for a full season. All we really know is that there was some sort of workplace relationship between Udoka and another member of the organization that violated organizational rules to the extent the Celtics felt they had to bring the hammer down. Udoka is being replaced by Joe Mazzulla for this year and Boston's brain trust told the media they'd figure out Udoka's future when his suspension is up next summer.
Stephen A. Smith has been very vocal in his belief that Udoka is getting railroaded, both in that there are "plenty of white folks" doing similar things with no repercussions and that the Celtics aired dirty laundry that the public had no business knowing. Smith appeared on The Breakfast Club today to reiterate those stances and revealed a new piece of information-- sources told Smith that the Celtics docked half of Udoka's pay to go along with his suspension.
This is new information. The Celtics said he would face a "significant" financial penalty but didn't give any specifics. Udoka's salary isn't public but Front Office Sports speculated he would make around $3 million per year as a first-time head coach, which seems about right. If that is the case then Udoka is out over a million dollars.
A significant financial penalty indeed.Comment
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Just as I suspected they were planning this for months.. I mean obviously Ime isn't returning to the Celtics but this reinforces the obvious.
Code:Celtics Owner Says He Threatened Jazz Exec If He Stole Assistant Coach Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart got into a scuffle in the third quarter of the 76ers-Celtics season opener. Embiid came down with a rebound and took Smart to the ground trying to untangle their arms. Embiid then slipped to the ground and a fight broke out. Marcus Smart explained the incident after the game to reporters, saying quote: 'Went for a rebound, basketball player, went for the steal. I stop play, my arm is still stuck in there and he tries to break it. The fact that I was the only one that Steal one coach from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, all is well. Try to steal a second, and the gloves are off. During an interview on The Greg Hill Show, Grousbeck talked about how Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge hired former Celtics assistant Will Hardy to be the organization’s new coach and that he wouldn’t allow him to do it twice. Ainge, who stepped down as the Celtics president of basketball operations in 2021 to take the job in Utah, also apparently tried to recruit Boston interim coach Joe Mazzulla before Ime Udoka’s year-long suspension, and Grousbeck wasn’t having it. “I prevented Danny from stealing him this summer, because I told Danny I’d fly to Utah and, like, personally strangle him if he did. You can quote that,” Grousbeck said. “You can take one person, an assistant, and make them a head coach, and they did with Will Hardy. And then they also wanted Mazzulla, and I was like, ‘That’s it, you’re crossing the line, and we’re not having it.’ And that was just when Joe was senior assistant with us, and now all of a sudden he’s interim head coach.” Mazzulla made his debut as interim coach Tuesday night when the Celtics defeated the 76ers 126–117 and it’s fair to say Grousbeck isn’t prepared to lose him without a fight.
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Just as I suspected they were planning this for months.. I mean obviously Ime isn't returning to the Celtics but this reinforces the obvious.
Celtics Owner Says He Threatened Jazz Exec If He Stole Assistant Coach
Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart got into a scuffle in the third quarter of the 76ers-Celtics season opener. Embiid came down with a rebound and took Smart to the ground trying to untangle their arms. Embiid then slipped to the ground and a fight broke out. Marcus Smart explained the incident after the game to reporters, saying quote: 'Went for a rebound, basketball player, went for the steal. I stop play, my arm is still stuck in there and he tries to break it. The fact that I was the only one that
Steal one coach from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, all is well. Try to steal a second, and the gloves are off.]
During an interview on The Greg Hill Show, Grousbeck talked about how Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge hired former Celtics assistant Will Hardy to be the organization’s new coach and that he wouldn’t allow him to do it twice. Ainge, who stepped down as the Celtics president of basketball operations in 2021 to take the job in Utah, also apparently tried to recruit Boston interim coach Joe Mazzulla before Ime Udoka’s year-long suspension, and Grousbeck wasn’t having it.
“I prevented Danny from stealing him this summer, because I told Danny I’d fly to Utah and, like, personally strangle him if he did. You can quote that,” Grousbeck said. “You can take one person, an assistant, and make them a head coach, and they did with Will Hardy. And then they also wanted Mazzulla, and I was like, ‘That’s it, you’re crossing the line, and we’re not having it.’ And that was just when Joe was senior assistant with us, and now all of a sudden he’s interim head coach.”
Mazzulla made his debut as interim coach Tuesday night when the Celtics defeated the 76ers 126–117 and it’s fair to say Grousbeck isn’t prepared to lose him without a fight.Comment
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This is .. interesting (although I got a chuckle out of him calling the Nets their biggest rivals but I digress)...
Marcus Smart Reacts to Ime Udoka to the Nets Report
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is not happy about Ime Udoka reportedly joining the Brooklyn Nets
While Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks refuted the reports that the team had settled on Ime Udoka as their next head coach, the former Boston Celtics lead man is widely expected to replace Steve Nash. In a recent interview with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Celtics guard Marcus Smart shared his feelings on this potential development.
"[Ime's] name got slandered and slaughtered and it was ‘He’ll probably never coach again.' And a couple months later he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals. It’s tough. It makes no sense," Smart said.
Smart admitted players on the team wish Udoka was still there, saying, "Obviously, we wish he was here. We have no control over that. It definitely sucks. I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him [not] to be a coach anywhere else, obviously."
While nothing has been finalized yet, there will be some serious questions the Nets must answer if they do end up hiring Udoka. With reports of the partnership surfacing just minutes after Nash was fired, it is obvious the Nets were in contact with Udoka while Nash was still employed, and while Udoka will still suspended from the Celtics.
The entire situation is odd, and Marcus Smart joined his teammate Jaylen Brown as one of the latest Celtics to share thoughts on it all.Comment
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I mean, at the end of the day, it was obviously sleazy and low-class, but it's not like he beat or raped someone...I don't think a blackballing is warranted or was ever even really on the cards (knee-jerk morning-after takes aside)Comment
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It doesn't need to be "warranted" for it to happen just have to **** off the wrong person. I mean Mark Jackson never got a coaching gig again. However it was how everyone was talking about how he was never going to coach in the NBA again and what he did was 100x worse than reported(see Matt Barnes). Plus he's black the odds of a black coach getting another gig this quickly rarely if it all happens given how his exit in Boston went. Like I said he has something over the Celtics to keep him from being Mark Jackson'd.Comment
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