Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka showed pretty quickly he has what it takes to help a team be successful on the court. But the 2022 offseason has tested his ability to keep one together off the court.
After leading the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year at the helm, Udoka’s team has been at the forefront of the biggest NBA offseason rumors this season, including the idea that Boston could trade Jaylen Brown for Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.
When talks were fluid there wasn’t much Udoka could do, but now that Durant and the Nets have agreed to continue their partnership, it’s time for the Celtics coach to do some damage control. He had his first shot at it on “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” show during the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of guys whose names have come up over the years,” Udoka said, as transcribed by Brian Robb of MassLive. “With us, we reiterate how important they are to us and we all see these guys in the summer anyway but also let them know that a lot of these rumors that come up are leaked by people with specific agendas.”
Udoka was broad in his statement, noting that he met with not only Brown, but Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard as well while in Los Angeles last week.
“If a name like Kevin Durant comes up, a high-level player like that, people are naturally going to ask about your best players,” Udoka said. “Jayson, Jaylen, Marcus, those names always tend to come up. We let them know how much we value them and these things are often leaked and nothing is going to come of it.”
With the season less than two months away, the time is now for Udoka to get the Celtics on the same page in their pursuit of Banner 18. From the sound of his first public words regarding the offseason, it looks as though he’s got what it takes.
