Shockwaves were sent across the NBA on Tuesday afternoon with Ime Udoka reportedly on the verge of becoming the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
It will be a very unceremonious exit from the Celtics for Udoka, who guided the franchise to an NBA Finals appearance last season during his first year at the helm. Udoka was serving a team-issued, season-long suspension for violation of Celtics organization policies. Udoka reportedly had an “improper” relationship with a female staffer and used “crude language” toward the individual.
With Udoka seemingly on his way out of Boston, Celtics star Jaylen Brown responded to the coach’s reported departure with a cryptic Instagram story post:
While Brown had no text with his post, the picture of Udoka standing next to Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant speaks volumes. Of course, Brown and Durant found themselves in constant trade rumors for one another over the summer, which sparked Brown to share his feelings again in an ambiguous way on social media.
The latest post from Brown seems to imply that he believes Udoka wanted Durant over him all along, and now Udoka will get his way by joining the 12-time NBA All-Star in Brooklyn.
When Brown was asked about the scandal surrounding Udoka just days following the aftermath of his suspension, the cornerstone piece of the Celtics struck a tune that was similar to many of his teammates.
“Initial reactions, I think I was, we were all shocked with what was going on. A little confused, a little bit. But a lot of the information wasn’t being shared with us or members of the team so you can’t really comment on it,” Brown said at Celtics media day on Sept. 26. “… I mean, I’ll say it again: I wish we had more details. From what we know, it’s hard to make a decision based upon whether it’s consensual or not in the workplace, or whatever is going on, which we know that’s happened before in the workplace.
“But I guess there’s more to it than that, possibly, which we don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t have all the details being shared with me. So, it’s hard to really comment on something that you are not filled in with all the details.”
The Celtics reportedly are letting Udoka go to the Nets freely, as it’s “unlikely” Boston will receive any compensation from Brooklyn for getting to hire the coach.
