While training camps will begin in a few days and the regular season should begin in less than a month, an earthquake has just shaken Boston: Ime Udoka, the Celtics coach, might get a big suspension for having maintained an intimate relationship with a woman who is part of the staff of the franchise, knowing that the person concerned has been engaged for several years with Nia Long. Vibe.
This is news that the Boston franchise would have done well.
Usually, the end of September corresponds to the period when the orange ball begins to reassert itself: media day, training camp, preseason… in short, we can talk regarding basketball once more and leave behind us the different sagas of the summer. . But at the Celtics, an extra sporting affair has therefore come to take center stage: according to Adrian Wojnarowski ofESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, coach Ime Udoka was caught in the act of having a relationship with a franchise employee on the staff. An “intimate and consensual relationship” if we are to believe the two main NBA insiders, the keyword here being “consensual” because this immediately rules out the hypothesis of aggression / harassment coming from Udoka towards the person in question. question.
Nevertheless, and to start the case from a purely legal point of view, this action would represent a violation of the rules of the Boston franchise.
Afterwards, if we believe the wording of Shams, we are indeed talking regarding a consensual relationship, so Udoka does in quotation marks “what he wants” in his relationships.
But it’s clear that PR level on the Celtics side, it can quickly become difficult since Ime has been in a relationship for 10 years.
Complicated.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 22, 2022
Not only are we here faced with a violation of the franchise regulations concerning relations between employees, but above all we are faced with a case that has nuances as numerous as they are varied.
- Ime Udoka is the coach of one of the most legendary franchises in the NBA and which comes out in addition to a participation in the final once morest the Golden State Warriors. He therefore represents one of the big faces of the Celtics today with the stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as well as the boss of basketball operations Brad Stevens.
- Ime Udoka has been engaged to famous actress Nia Long since 2015, and the couple had a child in 2011. Suffice to say that we are in a well-established relationship in the public sphere.
- We are talking here regarding America, the Zétazuni, a country which has more than once shown its inconsistency in public positions but has been linear in its vision of puritanism, leaving very few chances to those who, in a position of public representation, tarnish the image of the ideal family.
It will inevitably blow some people away, and that’s normal, but it’s image and PR. When you are a representative and public figure of a team / league / institution, yes there are lines not to cross under penalty of being labelled.
Bonus in Puritan America.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 22, 2022
For all these reasons, there is no doubt that Ime Udoka will be sanctioned quickly by the Celtics, but at what level of severity?
Upcoming suspension for Ime Udoka
This sanction might fall as early as this Thursday, if we are to believe ESPN. The sooner the better, because we know that this kind of business can very quickly weigh within an organization if a decision is not taken quickly. But what kind of punishment? A simple tap on the fingers? Or a more or less long suspension? A dismissal outright?
According to the hallway noise coming straight from Boston, the Celtics would opt for the suspension, the length of the latter remains to be seen. Obviously, and it’s the Woj who just threw it, there is a scenario in which Udoka does not coach the entire 2022-23 season. The Celtics, by virtue of their status and the very public aspect of this affair, are well aware that their decision concerning the 45-year-old coach will be analyzed under the magnifying glass and discussed through the NBA, even more so following the Robert Sarver affair which – although radically different – has not been a model of management on the part of the league.
WAAAAAAAAH ah yeah ok so it’s even considering putting Udoka on the side for the WHOLE SEASON oh the bordeeeeeel https://t.co/Tod6e3f8Mr
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 22, 2022
In the event of a suspension preventing Ime Udoka from carrying out his duties for the entirety of the 2022-23 season, one obviously wonders who can sit in the seat left vacant by the latter.
No no no, forget right now, the boss of basketball operations Brad Stevens is not going to come down from the offices to resume service on the bench, even as an interim. And of course, it’s hard to see the Celtics hiring a brand new coach for a limited time, because it’s not really in the interest of the franchise or the coach in question. Boston should therefore logically turn to one of Udoka’s assistants, and according to ESPN a certain Joe Mazzulla would hold the strings. Joe who? Joe Mazzulla, only 34 years old and with little coaching experience. He certainly spent ten years in the costume of assistant coach, from Division II NCAA to the NBA via the G League with the Maine Red Claws. But Mazzulla only has two years as a head coach on the resume, and that was at tiny college Fairmont State (2017-19). Hello the split if he takes control of the last NBA finalist.
A 2022-23 season that starts badly for the Celtics
A few weeks ago, all the lights were green in Boston. The Celtics had just come out of an NBA Finals following a spectacular rise that began in early 2022, and the cloverleaf franchise had made a big recruitment with the arrival of leader Malcolm Brogdon but also that of Danilo Gallinari. In short, everything seemed to be aligned to be able to confirm this season and settle among the big favorites for the title. And then the tiles came together. September 2, 2022: We learn that Gallinari’s knee injury suffered with Italy before the start of EuroBasket corresponds to a ruptured knee ligament. September 20, 2022: breaking news, the pivot Robert Williams III must once more go on the operating table to repair his knee and should miss the first deadlines of the upcoming regular season. And so September 21, 2022 : Ime Udoka is in turmoil, which leaves uncertainty over the situation around the identity of the coach for the coming year. All this, to which we can also add the rumors of this summer concerning a potential transfer of Kevin Durant involving Jaylen Brown (which by the way did not please the latter too much), is obviously very far from ideal a few days before training camp and media day.
Keeping a locker room and a clean public image when your coach cheated on his wife with a staff member, yes it may seem excessive for some but now that it’s made PUBLIC, it’s a PR nightmare.
It’s going to be very, very tense in Boston, Udoka might be fired.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 22, 2022
Whatever happens next, this affair can only weaken – at least initially – the position of Ime Udoka at the head of the Celtics team. A highly respected leader in the Boston locker room, and author of a remarkable first season on the bench for the Greens punctuated by qualification for the NBA Finals, Udoka had perfectly justified the choice of Brad Stevens to bet on a rookie coach like him, and this despite a somewhat complicated start during the first part of last season. Now, this case will follow him and the Celtics can only move on when Ime has served a suspension severe enough that everyone can move on followingwards.
Ime Udoka in turmoil, the Celtics in trouble, all this just days before the resumption of training camp. We are now waiting to see what decision will be made by the Boston franchise regarding its coach, but it is clear that regardless of the sanction, we have known better to prepare for an NBA season.
Sources texte : ESPN
