The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn (subscription required) has reported three coaches, Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles, and Mike Moser, are leaving Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics coaching staff to join spurned former Cs head coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets.
Udoka and Boston, of course, have an interesting relationship.
In 2021, the Celtics hired Ime Udoka to become the head coach for the team. Udoka led the team to a 51-31 record, and more importantly, the Celtics made the NBA Finals, though they’d lose in six games. Last offseason, Udoka was suspended for the entire season after he violated team policies for having an improper relationship with a female staff member. In April, the Rockets hired Udoka as their new head coach.
This is where loyalty comes into play. When Ime Udoka was hired as the head coach of the Boston Celtics he brought in Sullivan as the assistant. Udoka hired Moser as an assistant to the team as well. Those two have a strong connection with Udoka and they want to remain loyal to the guy who hired them.
The Boston Celtics must overhaul their coaching staff
The Boston Celtics bench has now become depleted, having recently lost Damon Stoudamire, the new head coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and last year they lost Will Hardy, who is now head coach of the Utah Jazz.
It has also been reported by Shams Charania the Celtics are planning to hire more veteran assistants to surround Mazzulla with.
“If he got swept, I think there would be a lot more questions… but the fact that it did go to game 7, I think it allowed the Celtics to see that there is a little bit of runway, some potential here.”@ShamsCharania on Joe Mazzulla’s future with the #Celtics#RunItBack pic.twitter.com/dSjCIGtZR1
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) May 30, 2023
Mazzulla signed a three-year, $14 million dollar deal, so getting rid of him was never an option. Despite Mazulla’s coaching flaws throughout the season and during the playoffs, he was still put in a tough position before the season even started.
There are a lot of coaches out there who are still available so it will be interesting to see who will they hire to help Mazzulla and the team.