Spurs Ex Ime Udoka Could Be Hired by Nets After Steve Nash Departure
Former San Antonio Spurs player and assistant Ime Udoka is reportedly the front-runner for the Brooklyn Nets' head-coaching vacancy after the team parted ways with Steve Nash, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.
The hiring "could be finalized as soon as the next 24-to-48 hours."
Udoka, who is still under contract as head coach of the Boston Celtics, is currently serving a season-long suspension handed down by the team for having an "intimate and consensual" relationship with a female Celtics staff member.
Now, the Celtics seem prepared to let him walk.
Udoka played 160 of his 316 career NBA games with the Spurs over three seasons before his last year in the league in 2011. He then joined coach Gregg Popovich's staff in 2012, winning a ring as an assistant in 2014 before departing in 2019.
After one season apiece as an assistant with the 76ers and the Nets, the Celtics hired Udoka in June 2021 as the franchise's newest head coach.
Boston went 51-31 this past in the first year of Udoka's tenure. It was the franchise's first 50-win season since the 2017-18 campaign.
With or without Udoka, the Celtics have similarly high expectations this season given their young but talented roster. Stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the big offseason addition of Malcolm Brogdon make them a group capable of a deep run in the playoffs again, even without the head coach that helped get them to the Finals last season.
Should Udoka officially be hired by the Nets, he'll face coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs for the first time this season on Monday, Jan. 2 in Brooklyn.
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