Boston leadership declined to elaborate on the nature of Udoka’s suspension, doing little to clarify a murky situation for an NBA title favorite.
Wyc Grousbeck looked shaken. Brad Stevens, too. Hours after the Celtics announced a season-long suspension for Ime Udoka, an unprecedented punishment for what the franchise termed “a violation of team policies,” the two most powerful men in Boston’s organization struggled over the course of a 28-minute press conference to explain why Udoka was no longer a part of it.
“It was a long, thorough process,” said Stevens. “Obviously it’s been a hard time.”
The Celtics issued a terse, three-sentence statement announcing Udoka’s suspension on Thursday. On Friday, they revealed little more. Grousbeck declined to delve into the team’s investigation of Udoka, citing privacy reasons. He said the Celtics learned of an issue with Udoka over the summer and that the team has hired an outside legal firm to investigate. The investigation, Grousbeck said, “had some twists and turns” before revealing “a volume of violations.” He said Udoka’s suspension will run through June 30—but made no commitments to Udoka coming back.
“We haven’t made any decision about going forward,” Grousbeck said. “I don’t have a substantive answer to that.”
What a mess.
It’s impossible to overstate Udoka’s impact on the team’s success last season. He was the architect of the NBA’s top-rated defense. His pointed—and often public—criticisms were an energizing cudgel for a team that badly needed to be clobbered by one. Under Udoka, Jayson Tatum regained his All-NBA status, Grant Williams developed into a reliable rotation player and Marcus Smart won Defensive Player of the Year. Robert Williams III, after having his toughness questioned by Udoka early in the season, dragged an aching left knee around for two months in the playoffs.
The players deserve the bulk of the credit for Boston’s trip to the Finals. Udoka deserves plenty of it, too.
And now he’s gone.
Was a season-long suspension necessary? Grousbeck believes so. “I personally feel this is well-warranted and appropriate and backed by substantial research and facts,” he said.
Udoka’s violation, multiple sources told Sports Illustrated, was what Boston deemed an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. But we don’t know how it started, how it ended or what happened to bring it to the front office’s attention—and how all of that may have impacted the punishment. The Celtics, for now, are not saying.
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for putting the team in this difficult situation,” Udoka said in a statement. “I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
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What was Udoka thinking? If nothing else, he had to know a relationship with a subordinate—and as head coach, anyone outside of the upper reaches of the front office is a subordinate—was dangerous. In a lengthy interview with SI last week, Udoka expressed excitement about the Celtics’ season. He raved about the addition of Malcolm Brogdon and opened up about the new wrinkles in the game plan he hoped would spark Boston’s late-game offense. “We want to hit the ground running,” Udoka told me. Now he has to wonder whether he will ever be back.
What were the Celtics thinking? This has hardly been a clinic on crisis management. ESPN, which aired Friday’s press conference under a flashing banner “UDOKA UNDER FIRE,” as if Udoka were taking heat for a five-game losing streak and not serious allegations of misconduct, first reported a Udoka problem Wednesday evening with The Athletic revealing key details—specifically the improper relationship with a staffer—hours later. A full day passed before Boston announced Udoka’s suspension, which allowed social media sleuths to ID every woman who works in the organization and baselessly connect several of them to the story. On Friday, Stevens’s voice cracked as he reflected on how the women working for the team have been treated.
“Nobody can control Twitter speculation, rampant bulls---,” said Stevens. “But I do think that we as an organization have a responsibility to make sure we’re there to support them now, because a lot of people were dragged unfairly into that.”
What, now, is Stevens thinking? The Celtics will name Joe Mazzulla interim head coach, Stevens confirmed. Mazzulla, 34, is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks, a candidate for the Jazz job last summer—a job that, ironically, went to Will Hardy, Udoka’s lead assistant—who played a key role in developing the Celtics’ defense last season. But Mazzulla is young, with three years of NBA coaching experience and two years as a head coach, at Division II Fairmont State, in the college ranks. Asking him to take over a title contender is a tall order.
Did Stevens consider coaching the team himself? Grousbeck said there was a discussion about it. “A brief one,” Grousbeck said. Stevens was more defiant. He called Mazzulla “the best choice by a long shot.” He said Mazzulla, who spent two seasons on Stevens’s staff, “is an exceptionally sharp and talented person.” As to Mazzulla’s own checkered past—he was arrested twice while in college at West Virginia, including once, in 2009, for domestic battery stemming from an incident at a bar—Stevens claimed to have no issues with Mazzulla’s character. "That shaped him into who he is today, and in a good way,” Stevens said. “He is 110% accountable for that. I believe in him.”
Still, the most qualified coach in Boston now is Stevens. He’s just a year removed from ending his own successful eight-year run on Boston’s bench. He knows the players. He knows the staff. As basketball minds go, Stevens is brilliant. Perhaps Stevens sees something in Mazzulla. Grousbeck called Mazzulla “passionate,” praising his energy. Stevens did hire Udoka, who was far from an obvious choice. But if the Celtics struggle early, the pressure will build for Stevens to rejoin the bench.
For months Boston has ranked among the betting favorites to win an NBA championship. It has been compared favorably to Milwaukee and Philadelphia, penciled into Finals matchups with the Warriors and Clippers. And maybe the team will still get there. But the Celtics who hoped to pick up where last season left off is in need of a new leader to steer them. Udoka was critical to Boston’s success last season. We’ll soon learn whether his absence will impact this one.
“This will be an unbelievable challenge,” Stevens said. “But I’m really confident in the team and coaching staff that’s going to take the court on Tuesday.”
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For more Boston Celtics coverage, go to Inside The Celtics.