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The Boston Celtics have officially begun the post-Danny Ainge era, and Brad Stevens has hired Ime Udoka to be the new head coach for Boston. With the Celtics' talented trio of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, they needed to find a coach that could work with those three.
As it turns out, the familiarity of Brown and Tatum with Udoka was a crucial part of the hiring, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
Ime Udoka’s experience coaching Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart a couple years ago in Team USA was significant in his hiring.
“Those guys all liked him and respected him,” one source told me. “He’s an easy guy to connect with.”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 23, 2021
The connection is easy and Udoka should be able to step in on day one and immediately make a difference as the Celtics aim to right the ship and compete once again in the Eastern Conference.
Goodman also expressed the thoughts of others around the league regarding Udoka.
Here’s how one coach who has worked with Ime Udoka described him to me:
“He listens to players and adjusts. It’s not his way or the highway. He has an edge, but he’s not a hard-ass. He’ll stand up to guys. He’s defensive-minded. He values toughness.” https://t.co/yxGFsVpQhl
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 23, 2021
Toughness and defense are surely important to the success of NBA teams, and the Celtics should benefit greatly from this hiring. While some thought that Rick Carlisle was a candidate for the job, the targets narrowed down and he was not on the list.
When you have a pair of All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as a physical, defensive stud in Marcus Smart, your core looks solid and Udoka has a perfect opportunity to have this team back in the conference finals sooner rather than later.
