Rockets Hire Former Celtics Coach Ime Udoka, per Report

He served a season-long suspension after having an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer in Boston.

Weeks after parting ways with coach Stephen Silas, the Rockets have reportedly reached an agreement to hire former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Udoka, 45, was suspended by Boston for the entirety of the 2022–23 season after it was discovered he was having an inappropriate relationship with a female Celtics staffer. He was replaced in Boston by Joe Mazzulla, who took over the job on an interim basis before the start of the season and was named the team’s permanent coach in February.

In his first season as coach, Udoka guided the Celtics to a 51–31 record and a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Warriors in six games. Previously, he was an assistant with the Nets, 76ers and Spurs following a playing career that spanned over a decade.

The Rockets went 22–60 this season, tied with San Antonio for the worst record in the Western Conference. Houston has not won more than 22 games in each of the past three seasons.