It’s Time For The Boston Celtics To Cut Ties With Ime Udoka

The Boston Celtics are currently in a quandary. First, reports claimed that the Celtics were willing to let suspended head coach Ime Udoka join the Brooklyn Nets without asking for any compensation. If it wasn’t obvious before that Boston would be comfortable cutting ties with Udoka altogether, it became quite clear with this news.

Then, of course, the already freefalling Nets, probably rightfully fearing further backlash after the ongoing Kyrie Irving antisemitism controversy, decided to promote assistant Jacque Vaughn to the role. It was a wise decision, considering that Udoka had been suspended for an entire year for multiple violations of Celtics team policy just a month prior. There’s only so much bad press a franchise can take.

Whatever Udoka’s actions were—and the details surrounding them remain sketchy and unreliable—they were enough for the Celtics to jettison a head coach that took them to the NBA Finals, after an offseason where they made moves that (at least briefly) made them title favorites. Even assuming the Nets did not uncover any new information about Udoka following the “due diligence” they had promised to do after parting ways with Steve Nash, this fact alone should have been enough for them to question whether they should commit to Udoka.

MORE FROM FORBESThe Boston Celtics Must Move On, Even If They Don’t Know What They’re Moving On FromBy Hunter Felt

Here lies the problem for Boston. Udoka is still with the Celtics, who are on the hook for at least some of his salary (although the suspension came with a healthy monetary penalty). While analysts assumed that the Celtics were just going to move on from Udoka, this clearly was not something passed down to the players.

In fact, it sounds like they have been just as much in the dark about Udoka’s status as the rest of us, as made obvious by the confusion that set in when the Nets rumors first surfaced. At least some had assumed Udoka’s suspension was simply a one-year sabbatical and that he was still, in some aspect, their head coach. Point guard and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart went on record as being unhappy with how the situation played out.

“His name got slandered and slaughtered and it was ‘He’ll probably never coach again,'” Smart said. “And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals? It’s tough. It makes no sense.”

Smart’s comments revealed a troubling lack of communication in the Celtics organization. While it’s understandable that they have been tightlipped about the reasons behind Udoka’s suspension, there are legitimate reasons to protect the identities of those involved, leaving his fate up in the air has added an unwelcome distraction to what has so far been a successful start to Boston’s season. After last night’s 117-108 win over the Detroit Pistons, the Celtics are currently 10-3 and just below the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings.

In some ways, the Nets would have done the Celtics a huge favor if they had actually hired Udoka. With that one move, Boston could have moved on from Udoka and his baggage, firmly established Joe Mazzulla as their head coach and focused ahead on the future of the organization. Sometimes you simply have to rip the bandage off.

Now, the Celtics are forced to figure out what to do with someone who went from being a NBA Coach of the Year candidate to a team pariah nearly overnight. At this point, it’s hard to see how they could possibly go back to Udoka short of a team-wide revolt under Mazzulla’s leadership. By not fighting to keep Udoka, the organization has shown their hand about his future with the team.

If another team isn’t going to solve their problem for them, the Celtics should be proactive and permanently relieve Udoka of his duties sooner rather than later. When Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck made the decision to suspend the coach for a year it felt very much like a half-measure. In the wake of the Nets rumors, it feels like keeping him on the payroll is merely prolonging the inevitable. The Boston Celtics are no longer Udoka’s team and there’s no reason to keep up the charade that they will be ever again.