Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Jaylen Brown Responds to Rumors of Disconnect in Celtics Locker Room
On Monday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that members of the Boston Celtics are still upset over the dismissal of former head coach Ime Udoka. Wojnarowski believes the coaching change contributed to Boston’s 0-3 deficit to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
"This team, this locker room, they never got over Ime Udoka's dismissal as head coach," Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown. "These players did not accept the organization's reasoning for doing it. They thought it was a wild overreaction. There were a lot of people on the outside who thought it was an overreaction, it was an HR matter.”
Wojnarowski continued to discuss how Udoka’s departure affected the Celtics.
"I think with this team, and talking with management, they never got the answers, they never got any more answers than the public was getting on this. That doesn't mean they haven't accepted Joe Mazzulla as head coach. But this is a team that really believed in Ime Udoka, had a strong connection with him. I think there were a couple instances this season where a lot of that angst resurfaced. First, when the Brooklyn Nets nearly hired Udoka as head coach and then when the Rockets did."
Though no franchise in NBA history has overcome a 3-0 deficit, Boston kept their hopes alive in Game 4. Jaylen Brown registered 17 points, four rebounds, and 4 assists in the victory.
The Georgia native alluded to Wojnarowski’s report, claiming that recent rumors surrounding the Celtics are false.
"Obviously, we underperformed in the last three games, and you start to hear all these stories coming out about X, Y and Z," said Brown, as captured by NBC Sports Boston. "Who knows where they actually come from. And 99 percent of them aren't true at all. So, we wanted to stay together, and I think that was the emphasis last night, was make sure we was on the same page."
Game 5 of the Celtics-Heat series is set for Thursday night at 8:30 pm.
