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The Houston Rockets appear to have found their next head coach in Ime Udoka. It was reported Monday that Udoka has agreed to a deal to take over a Houston team that has lost at least 55 games in three consecutive seasons.
ESPN Sources: Ime Udoka has agreed to a deal to become the next Houston Rockets coach. pic.twitter.com/xhcDRDfnNJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 24, 2023
Of course, Udoka has not been coaching the Celtics in the 2023 NBA Playoffs after he was suspended for the 2022-23 season for his conduct in a relationship with a female employee in Boston. The Celtics fired Udoka in February.
Udoka was going to be one of the most sought-after coaching prospects this year, and now he has his work cut out for him in turning around the Rockets, who tied for the second-worst record in the NBA this year at 22-60.
Udoka’s Short But Impressive Resume
Udoka will be 46 years old next season. He is a former NBA player who spent seven seasons on Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio (2012-19) as an assistant coach, learning from one of the best to ever do it. After one-year stints as an assistant with the 76ers (2019-20) and Nets (2020-21), Udoka was hired as the head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2021.
Boston infamously got off to an 18-21 start under Udoka, but the turnaround was significant with Boston finishing 33-10 to post a 51-31 record. The Celtics swept the Nets in the first round of the playoffs, won a 7-game battle with the defending champion Bucks, won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami, and gave the Warriors a battle in the NBA Finals before losing in Game 6.
Udoka has won 62.2% of his regular-season games and 58.3% of his playoff games in one full year as coach in the NBA.
The Controversy
Not many rookie head coaches get to the NBA Finals, but Udoka’s time in Boston would be short lived after rumors swirled last year about a workplace relationship he allegedly had with a female subordinate for the Celtics.
Originally reported to be a consensual relationship, the team’s internal investigation advanced once the woman reportedly accused Udoka of making unwanted comments toward her.
As a result of violating multiple team policies, Udoka was suspended last September for the entire 2022-23 NBA regular season. After the team made his replacement, Joe Mazzulla, the permanent head coach, Udoka was fired in February.
The Houston Outlook
Looking to redeem himself, Udoka has a difficult task ahead of him in turning around the Rockets. But he has had the support of his players as a good coach to play for, and he will have talent to mold in Houston.
The Rockets have drafted Jalen Green (No. 2 overall in 2021) and Jabari Smith (No. 3 overall in 2022) with very high draft picks the last two years. Kevin Porter Jr. is also a young player (23 years old next season) who averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game.
In this June’s draft, the Rockets have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. Another game changer could be added there, but Udoka is definitely going to have to build up the Rockets with a longer process than the Boston team he took over that was ready to win but needed that extra push to get over the hump.
Franchise-saving coaches are rare in the NBA, but it makes sense why Udoka is being given a second chance in Houston. Hopefully for Houston’s sake, Udoka has learned to fix problems without becoming one himself for the club.
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