Boston Celtics Head coach Ime Udoka is likely to face a season suspension for violating the team’s organizational guidelines. according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Udoka’s breach, according to The Athletic, was having an “inappropriate and consensual relationship” with a Celtics employee.
Udoka – who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season as the team’s head coach – is not in danger of losing his job, but a formal announcement on the length of the suspension is expected as early as Thursday. If Udoka isn’t on Boston’s bench early in the season, assistant coach Joe Mazzulla is reportedly a front-runner to temporarily replace him.
This isn’t the first time an NBA team has had a reported affair scandal that led to job insecurity. Exactly one year to the day, the Minnesota Timberwolves separated from their president of basketball operations, Gersson Rosas, due in part to a “consensual and intimate relationship” he had been with a member of the organization while he was married. Rosas joined the team in 2019.
Udoka, 45, has been engaged to actress Nia Long since 2015.
The Celtics will open their preseason on October 2 against the Charlotte Hornets. Their regular season opener is on October 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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