Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown Strongly Weigh In On Ime Udoka-Nets Rumors

What will happen next?

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

It seems like with each passing day the situation around currently suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka gets even more confusing.

Udoka was suspended by the team for the entire 2022-23 season before training camp kicked off for an inappropriate workplace relationship. Boston has kept the full story under wraps -- to even the team -- but over the last few months more damning details have come out putting return to the Boston bench very much in doubt. 

With the Nets' firing of head coach Steve Nash rumors have been swirling that Brooklyn will ultimately fill the role with the suspended Boston coach. 

The news of Udoka's potential new role hasn't been taken well by everyone in the Boston organization. Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach caught up with Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown who gave their take on the latest news. 

“Obviously, we wish he was here,” Smart said to Himmelsbach. “We have no control over that. It definitely sucks. I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him (not) to be a coach anywhere else, obviously.

“His name got slandered and slaughtered and it was, ‘he’ll probably never coach again.' And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals? It’s tough. It makes no sense. But we can’t control that." 

Brown more so found himself pleased for the currently suspended coach. 

“I’m just happy to see a Black head coach end up back on his feet,” Brown said. “Because I’ve seen situations where something like this might not have been the case.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the Nets hadn't formally hired Udoka to fill the vacant head coaching role although both ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania have reported that a deal seems to be imminent. 

While the full story hasn't come out on exactly what went in Boston with Udoka, clearly something happened worthy of a full-season suspension. The next time we see Udoka -- whether with the Nets or Celtics -- we are sure to hear much more about what happened before this story is over. 

Further Reading

Jayson Tatum Reflects On How Celtics' NBA Finals Run Has Changed Perspective

Jaylen Brown, Joe Mazzulla Dissect Final Play From Celtics' OT Loss Vs. Cavaliers

[Video] Grant Williams Discusses Everything from Negotiations with Celtics to Mental Health and Signing with Jordan Brand in Interview with Shams Charania

Now Is Time To Buy Low On Malcom Brogdon's 6th Man Of Year Betting Odds

After Firing Steve Nash, Nets Plan to Hire Ime Udoka as Head Coach

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. Wizards: Boston Clamps Down Defensively, While Brogdon Scores Season-High

The Top 5 Plays from Sunday's Celtics-Wizards Game

[Film Room] Malcolm Brogdon's Fitting in Seamlessly with Celtics, but What's More Exciting is on the Horizon