Ime Udoka took the NBA by storm for all the wrong reasons this past offseason when it was revealed that he was indulging in an extramarital relationship with a Celtics sub-ordinate. After having taken the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first go-around as a head coach, he was suspended for his behavior for the entirety of the 2022-23 NBA season.
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Now, with the Brooklyn Nets having fired Steve Nash, the team has set their sights on one man: Ime Udoka. What makes this easier is that Udoka has a pre-existing relationship with the Nets front office as he served as an assistant coach for them under Nash in the 2020-21 NBA season.
It has been reported by Adrian Wojnarowski that the Nets are indeed looking to finalize a deal with Ime within the next 24-48 hours. This has caused many to wonder how we got to this point in the first place.
The Nets plan to hire Ime Udoka as their next head coach, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/c5kD91NjWm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 1, 2022
What did Ime Udoka do?
When word first got out that Ime Udoka was involved in a workplace relationship, many took his side such as Stephen A. Smith and Matt Barnes. This however was the case because it was reported that the relationship was a consensual one.
As the days went by, it became clear that Udoka made several unwanted romantic advances towards this female Celtics staffer. He used ‘crude language’ with this staffer and this, according to ESPN, played a major role in him being handed a 1-year suspension.
The Daily Mail would go on to reveal that the woman Ime was involved with was Kathleen Nimmo Lynch. Lynch was close friends with Danny Ainge’s daughter as the two went to college together. Despite being with the Jazz now, Ainge’s connections in Boston run deep so it’s no surprise that Udoka was suspended for an entire season.
Nets are under fire for their recent decisions
Everything from not suspending Kyrie Irving for promoting a movie with antisemitic quotes to now hiring Udoka, the Nets front office has received a ton of flack as of recent.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Udoka era of the Nets unfolds as the team looks to finalize his move into the heading coaching position.