Rockets Coach Ime Udoka Hires Three Assistants From Celtics Staff

Headlined by Ben Sullivan, Ime Udoka added three coaches to his staff as coach of the Houston Rockets.

HOUSTON — Coach Ime Udoka is finalizing his staff as coach of the Houston Rockets. The Boston Globe was the first to report Udoka has hired Aaron Miles, Mike Moser and Ben Sullivan to join his staff in Houston.

All three assistant coaches worked under Udoka during his first and only season as coach of the Boston Celtics during the 2021-22 campaign. They remained assistant coaches under Joe Mazzulla following Udoka's firing in September.

The hiring of Udoka's assistant coaches came two days following the Celtics' post-season elimination to the Miami Heat during the Eastern Conference Finals Monday night.

Udoka and Sullivan worked together under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs. Sullivan joined Udoka's staff in Boston after spending four seasons with Mike Budenholzer and the Milwaukee Bucks. Royal Ivey was the first assistant Udoka added to his staff in May.

Following the departure of Stephen Silas on April 9, Udoka took over as the 16th coach in franchise history.  

General manager Rafael Stone said he would "encourage" the next head coach to look at Silas' previous staff for potential holdovers. But a month into his tenure as coach, there is a chance Houston may not have many of Silas' former assistants.

According to KPRC, assistant coaches Mahmoud Abdelfattah and John Lucas II were candidates to join Udoka's staff. Abdelfattah and Lucas played prominent roles in the development of Houston's young corps over the last three seasons. 

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