There was always a chance Joe Mazzulla would prove himself up to the task as the Boston Celtics head coach in 2022-23, making it much easier for the front office to part ways with Ime Udoka upon season's end. Now that he's set to become head coach of the Brooklyn Nets less than an hour after the team parted ways with Steve Nash, though, it's become abundantly clear retaining Udoka beyond his one-season suspension was never in the Celtics' plans.
The probe into Udoka's improper relationship with a female subordinate revealed details that confirmed allegations he used “crude language” in communications with her, a factor that made it “unlikely” he'd ever be reinstated as Boston's head coach, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The independent law firm probe into Udoka found that he 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, sources told ESPN in September.
Those investigative findings — which described verbiage on Udoka's part that was deemed especially concerning coming from a workplace superior — contributed to what was an unlikely pathway to his reinstatement as Celtics coach in 2023, sources said.
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, which was commissioned by the Celtics and completed early last week, sources said.
The Celtics suspended Udoka for the duration of the 2022-23 season in late September after the woman with whom he was involved told management he'd recently made “unwanted comments” toward her. The team first learned of a consensual relationship between Udoka and the Boston staffer in July, according to The Athletic.
Brooklyn announced Nash's mutually agreed upon departure from the organization on Tuesday morning amid the team's wholly dispiriting on-court start to the season and more off-court controversy sparked by Kyrie Irving. The superstar guard posted a link to a film rife with antisemitic tropes last week, refusing to apologize a couple days later during a heated press conference in which he also espoused his enduring belief in the “New World Order” conspiracy theory.
The Nets have reportedly “been vetting” the circumstances that prompted Udoka's suspension with the Celtics. He has a longtime relationship with Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks dating back to their shared time with the San Antonio Spurs. Udoka also spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant under Nash during the latter's debut season with the Nets.
Boston is 4-2 to start the season with Mazzulla at the helm. Brooklyn enters Tuesday's nationally televised tilt with the Chicago Bulls at 2-5. Assistant Jacque Vaughn will serve as the Nets' interim coach until Udoka is officially introduced as Nash's replacement.
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