Despite his ugly exit from the Boston Celtics, Ime Udoka has remained a premier coaching candidate for any team who needs someone with experience of winning at the highest level. That much is proven true as the 45-year-old has been linked with a number of openings, including the one with the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons.
In fact, Udoka is considered one of the favorites to land the gigs on both teams. With the Rockets, he has the third-best odds to become coach at +500, only behind Nick Nurse (+300) and Scott Brooks (+400). With the Pistons, he owns the fourth-best odds at +600, behind Charles Lee (+300), Kenny Atkinson (+400) and Jerry Stackhouse (+500), per SportsBetting.ag.
Ime Udoka had a great first season as a coach with the Boston Celtics, quickly transforming the team to a title contender and making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2021-22, only losing to the well-experienced Golden State Warriors.
Many expected him to replicate that success in his second year in 2022-23. Unfortunately, even before the campaign started, the team suspended him for the whole campaign after it was found that he had an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. Further independent investigation revealed that he used “crude language” when speaking with the woman. Udoka was later fired after the Celtics removed the interim tag on head coach Joe Mazzulla.
Udoka was linked with the Brooklyn Nets before after the Steve Nash firing, but the team appeared to take a step back from hiring him due to the nature of his issue with the Celtics. Now, it remains to be seen if any team is willing to give him a chance despite his previous controversy.
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