Celtics Coach Ime Udoka 'Improper Relationship'; Actress Nia Long Words: Does NBA Have a Problem?

Celtics coach Udoka is accused of having "an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff." .. the sort of path the NBA has traveled too often.

DALLAS - All front-office scandals are not created equal, so the fact that Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is poised to be given a season-long suspension for engaging in an "improper intimate relationship'' with another member of the organization is not precisely like ...

Ousted and disgraced Donald Sterling's sick-minded reign over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mark Cuban's overseeing of "improper conduct among employees in the Dallas Mavericks front office'' that led to him donating (rather than being fined) $10 million to domestic-violence organizations.

Robert Sarver's piggish behavior in charge of the Phoenix Suns, a controversy that has him now being nudged into selling the team.

But while we can play the "a distinction without a difference” game here, what ties these incidents (and others) together is ...

There are too many of them.

Adrian Wojnarowski first reported on Wednesday night that Udoka committed an "unspecified violation of organizational guidelines" that may warrant a significant punishment. Shams Charania then report more specifically that the issue is about Odoka having "an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff."

Without knowing the full details, certainly "an improper and intimate relationship'' sounds like something less than a "crime.'' And we need to be careful to not guess wrongly at the meaning of the cryptic words from actress Nia Long, who has been involved in a relationship with Udoka.

Nevertheless, the NBA and Celtics concern is deep enough that Udoka - who in his second year in Boston led his Celtics to a 51-31 record and an NBA Finals appearance in 2021-22 - might now have to watch as top assistant Joe Mazzulla takes over.

And the NBA, from the very top on down, needs to watch something else: Itself.

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