The Celtics didn’t instantly identify Udoka’s interim substitute. Assistant Joe Mazzulla is predicted to function Udoka’s substitute throughout his suspension, which started Thursday, based on an individual with data of the scenario.
“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” Udoka stated in an announcement. “I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
ESPN and the Athletic first reported particulars surrounding Udoka’s punishment, which comes lower than one week earlier than the Celtics open coaching camp and fewer than a month earlier than their common season opener towards the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18.
Udoka, 45, emerged as a rising star within the teaching ranks final season, guiding Boston to 51 wins and its first Eastern Conference championship since 2010. Credited for holding Boston’s stars accountable and motivating a roster that had underperformed earlier than his arrival, Udoka oversaw the NBA’s top-ranked protection and completed fourth in coach of the yr voting. During a formidable playoff run, the Celtics swept Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets, dethroned Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks and outlasted Jimmy Butler’s Miami Heat earlier than falling to the Golden State Warriors in six video games.
Boston solidified its place as a number one title favourite by buying guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers in a July commerce. The Celtics return Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford, amongst different key items from final yr’s crew. However, heart Robert Williams III will likely be sidelined for a minimum of a month following a latest knee surgical procedure, and ahead Danilo Gallinari, an offseason addition, may miss all the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in August.
A former NBA participant, Udoka spent seven seasons with 5 completely different NBA groups earlier than becoming a member of the San Antonio Spurs’ teaching workers in 2012. Udoka, who spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers and the 2020-21 season in the identical function with the Nets, additionally served as a USA Basketball assistant below Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Celtics employed Udoka as a part of a 2021 overhaul which noticed longtime president Danny Ainge depart and former coach Brad Stevens promoted to the entrance workplace. Boston misplaced former assistant coach Will Hardy in June when Ainge, now CEO of the Utah Jazz, employed him to his first head teaching place.
Mazzulla, 34, joined the Celtics in 2019 as an assistant coach below Stevens following a earlier stint as an assistant with Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. This summer season, the Rhode Island native interviewed for the Jazz’s head teaching place earlier than it went to Hardy.
