Anyone who has been employed for more than a month has probably encountered a situation where the rules of the company were overlooked. In most cases, it happens because the person who broke the rules is either too important to the company to fire or because they had enough friends in high places to find a way to make the problem go away. That’s why the actions taken by the Boston Celtics regarding head coach Ime Udoka are so startling.
Given that the Boston Celtics are favored by many to win a title this season, the temptation to find a way to maintain the status quo had to be enormous. They had a coach who had won 28 of his last 35 regular season games and then taken the Warriors to six games in the NBA Finals.
They then added Malcolm Brogdon to their core without losing anyone of consequence, and they hoped to have Robert Williams healthy. If everything clicks, the Boston Celtics are as good as anyone. A lot of teams in that situation would have taken the path of least resistance, which would be to pretend nothing happened.
The Boston Celtics risked a lot to do the right thing regarding Ime Udoka.
Maybe you have to write a big check to keep someone quiet, but when you have already invested $170 million in your team payroll, you could justify spending a big chunk to protect that investment. We know from history that such ventures usually end badly, but that hasn’t stopped teams from trying. But the Celtics took a different path, and you have to admire the courage that it took.
That $170 million investment is entrusted to Joe Mazzulla, who is 34 years old and whose head coaching experience consists of two years at Fairmont State. The first question that comes to mind is that if whatever Ime Udoka did was egregious enough to justify throwing the team into this much tumult, why wouldn’t they fire him? Also, if Mazzulla is good enough that they were willing to put the team in his hands for this season, why would they not just hire him full-time?
Instead, by suspending Udoka, the Celtics have set themselves up for a season full of drama. Even though Udoka Udoka is technically under contract, his name will likely be mentioned if any coaching jobs come open during the regular season. Even more interesting will be what happens if the Celtics get off to a slow start under Mazzulla.
The Boston Celtics have plenty of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Hoops Habit…
