Ime Udoka suspended: What’s next for Celtics and beyond?

By Ric Bucher, Melissa Rohlin and Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writers

Just three months after leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season as head coach, Ime Udoka is at the center of drama and uncertainty upending the organization.

Udoka was suspended by the team for the entirety of the 2022-23 season on Thursday, just a day after ESPN and The Athletic reported that he had had a consensual intimate relationship with a member of the team staff that violated organizational policy.

Udoka released a statement following the Celtics’ decision:

The ripple effects of an unprecedented punishment are sure to be felt throughout the organization and the league in the coming days. Our NBA reporters — Ric Bucher, Melissa Rohlin and Yaron Weitzman — spoke to sources around the NBA to detail what comes next.

Where the Celtics go from here

In Udoka’s stead, the Celtics will turn to assistant coach Joe Mazzulla, according to a report from ESPN.

Just 34 years old, Mazzulla takes over a team coming off a Finals run and expecting another. This would be a tall task for any coach, let alone one with no experience as the lead voice of an NBA team. The good news for Celtics fans is that Mazzulla appears to be beloved throughout the organization.

“The players like him and respect him,” one Celtics source said. When asked about Mazzulla during last year’s playoff run, Celtics star Jayson Tatum said, “I love Joe… [I] can’t say enough good things about Joe, and everybody appreciates what he brings to this team, and I’m glad that we have him.” 

Mazzulla, who as a point guard helped lead West Virginia to the NCAA Final Four in 2010, first joined the Celtics’ organization in 2016, as an assistant for their G League team, the Maine Red Claws. The next season, he left to become the head coach for Division II Fairmont State, where he remained for three years before being brought on to Brad Stevens’ coaching staff with the Celtics in 2019. The job was a dream come true for the Rhode Island native who, according to friends, rooted for the Celtics when growing up. 

Player development was his initial focus. He worked closely with Kemba Walker, among others. 

“The players took to him,” said Scott Morrison, a Celtics assistant at the time and Mazzulla’s head coach during his time with the Red Claws. “He tells them what it is without being abrasive and in my experience, players like that. They like being coached.” 

He connected with players because he was just…