ESPN REPORT: Details on Will Hardy suspension.
Due to his involvement in a romantic relationship with a female employee of the team, Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is probably going to be suspended for the whole 2022–2023 season, sources said ESPN on Thursday.
The relationship is thought to have violated the organization’s policies, and Udoka’s recommended punishment is essentially unheard of for an NBA head coach who is currently in office. It might be official announcement as early as Thursday.
ESPN was informed by insiders that Boston’s interim coach for the upcoming season will probably be assistant coach Joe Mazzulla.
Will Hardy, Udoka’s top assistant coach, departed the team in June to take a coaching position with the Utah Jazz.
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After finishing his NBA playing career, Udoka worked as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets until joining the Celtics in the summer.
As coach, he took Brad Stevens’ place. After Danny Ainge, the previous president of basketball operations for Boston, decided to depart the company, Stevens went up to take over that role.
Udoka led the Boston Celtics to a stunning comeback in his first season as coach, going from a late-January record below.500 to a 28-7 record during the final 35 games of the season. Then, for the first time in twelve years, they made an incredible run through the Eastern Conference playoffs and made it to the NBA Finals.
Udoka is the first head coach since Nick Nurse in 2019 to make it to the NBA Finals in his first season, and he is the sixth coach in the previous 25 years to do it.
Additionally, he made history by becoming the first rookie coach to win three Game 7s in his first postseason, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information. Before losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals, Udoka guided Boston to victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Miami Heat in the East finals, requiring seven games each.
