Ime Udoka is reportedly expected to replace Steve Nash as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, despite the Boston Celtics suspending Udoka for the season for an improper relationship with a team employee. Celtics guard Marcus Smart is particularly confused by this turn of events, and it's clear that he's unhappy with how things were handled.
Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach talked to Smart about the debacle, and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year had a lot to say concerning Udoka being set to take over the Nets' head coaching job:
“We obviously thought he'd be back, but the team and organization felt a different way. Unfortunately, that's the business side of it and we have to deal with it.”
Udoka was only in Boston for a season, yet he helped lead the team to its first NBA Finals appearance in over a decade. His inappropriate relationship with a Celtics staffer isn't fully disclosed, but it was a bombshell that shook the Celtics and disturbed the front office. So much so that they apparently have no problems with him walking away freely.
Regardless of the scandal, Smart seems to be on Udoka's side, saying that when he sees him next he'll congratulate him on his new coaching job with Brooklyn. The longest-tenured Celtics also voiced his anger on how Boston let Udoka seemingly walk to a rival team:
“[Ime's] name got slandered & 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.”
“He's going to possibly take a job right down the street from us and be coaching the same guys we were trying to beat to get to where we were last year.”
Although Udoka hasn't been christened as the new head coach following Steve Nash's firing, it seems as if the formal announcement is coming soon. Nets general manager Sean Marks refused to make it official on Tuesday, but there are plenty of reports confirming that it's going to happen sooner rather than later:
The Celtics will travel to play the Nets on Dec. 4, which should be a game full of intriguing storylines. Whether the C's will line up against their former coach remains to be seen. No matter what, it's clear that the Udoka controversy isn't behind Boston just yet.
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