Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart is one of several players who have expressed surprise that Ime Udoka could end up as coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
Earlier in the week, news broke that Steve Nash had been fired as Nets head coach after seven games played.
Stephen A. Smith’s theory about why the Boston Celtics didn’t fire Ime Udoka
Following Steve Nash’s dismissal, Ime Udoka’s name emerged as the overwhelming favorite to lead the Nets off the bench.
Why was Marcus Smart surprised to hear the news about his former coach?
Marcus Smart, one of the best defensive players in the NBA, commented to the Boston Globe that the decision to sign his former coach, Ime Udoka “didn’t make sense.”
“His name was slandered and butchered and it was said, ‘He probably won’t coach again,'” Smart told The Globe. “And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals?”
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“It’s tough. It doesn’t make sense. But we can’t control that. We have to control what we can and I love the team here. I love the coaching staff. I love Joe (Mazzulla),” Smart said, “Obviously we want (Udoka) to be here,” Marcus Smart mentioned. “We have no control over that. It definitely stinks. I guess it was felt that what happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him [not] to be a coach anywhere else, obviously.”
Why was Udoka suspended?
The Boston Celtics suspended Udoka for a full year for violating the NBA franchise’s internal policies.
The former Celtics coach was said to have been involved in a romantic relationship with another person in the same organization, which was prohibited and banned by the organization’s rules.
More recent rumors suggested that Udoka was romantically involved with Kathleen Nimmo Lynch, who serves as the team’s service manager.
In his time as coach of the Celtics, Ime Udoka led Boston to the most recent NBA Finals where the Golden State Warriors defeated them.