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Boston Celtics: Former NBA champion says Udoka situation is ‘100 times uglier’ than originally thought

By Sam LaFrance

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Matt Barnes attends the NBA 2K23 Launch Event at Rolling Greens on September 07, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images for 2K)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Matt Barnes attends the NBA 2K23 Launch Event at Rolling Greens on September 07, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images for 2K) /
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Reports from various sources trickled out this week surrounding Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. On Wednesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski tweeted that Udoka was facing disciplinary action following a violation of team guidelines. The following day, Woj reported that the violation was a consensual relationship with a member of the Boston Celtics organization.

Team owner Wyc Grousbeck and President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens addressed the media Friday and confirmed that Udoka would be suspended for the entire 2022-23 NBA season. The two didn’t specify what exactly the coach had done, but did indicate that he’d violated team guidelines multiple times.

Grousbeck explained that Udoka would be facing a significant financial penalty during his suspension.

Retired former NBA Champions weigh in on Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka

Once the news was announced, figures from around the league started to weigh in on the situation. Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce tweeted Thursday that he thought the punishment should only be a fine rather than a suspension.

Former NBA champion, and co-host of All the Smoke, Matt Barnes had originally shared a post defending the Celtics coach. He then deleted the post and shared an Instagram video explaining why he’d deleted it.

The video showed Barnes inside of his car saying that he’d learned more on the situation:

"“Last night without knowing all the facts I spoke on Ime Udoka’s defense. After finding out the facts after I spoke, I erased what I posted because this situation in Boston is deep, it’s messy, it’s 100 times uglier than any of us thought."

Barnes went on to say that he’d heard that some things had happened that he absolutely could not condone. The details of what exactly what happened with Ime Udoka have yet to be released.

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