Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka ended up being out of a job in the NBA for only one season.
Udoka reportedly landed his next head coaching gig Monday as he agreed to take over at the helm of the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Rockets and Udoka moved fairly quickly toward each other after initial meeting, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “Udoka and GM Rafael Stone kept talking on job. Both sides had some strong options in the marketplace but a deal got done in the last 24 hours to land Udoka with the Rockets. Young talent, cap space and a 14% chance at the No. 1 overall pick were part of a strong case to lure Udoka.”
Udoka had an unceremonious exit from the Celtics after guiding Boston to an NBA Finals appearance in his one and only season coaching the team. Just before training camp opened up in late September, Udoka received a team-issued suspension for the entire season due to violations of team policies. Wojnarowski reported the Rockets “probed the circumstances around Udoka’s Celtics departure with the team and league office,” but it obviously didn’t prevent them from bringing on Udoka.
Udoka almost had another head coaching job as early as November after the Brooklyn Nets fired Steve Nash. Udoka was seen as a candidate for that position, but the Nets ultimately passed on Udoka with women in the organization reportedly pushing back on the hire.
Now, the 45-year-old walks into a much different situation than he did with the Celtics in June of 2021. The Rockets were tied for the second-worst record in the NBA this season at 22-60 — it actually was their best season in the last three years. But Houston is one of three teams in the running for Victor Wembanyama, a generational talent likely to go No. 1 overall in the upcoming NBA draft.
Udoka got the second chance he sought and now he has the difficult job of trying to repair his image while also building the Rockets into a contender.
