Fired Boston Celtics Coach May Take Off With Houston Rockets Per Sources

Ime Udoka made quite an impression last year when he led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals.

But as most know, there were misconduct issues that cropped up after that and this led to him being suspended and eventually fired.

When he was suspended, there were a lot of questions on the air about his fate. All this came to a close when the Celtics named Joe Mazulla as their new head coach, formally cutting ties with the 45-year-old.

But seeing how he worked wonders for the Celtics last season, leading Boston to the NBA Finals on his first try as head coach, there is no question that other teams will look into trying to get them to their side.

It appears that the Houston Rockets is that team.

According to a person familiar with the situation in a report by ESPN, the Rockets are planning to hire Udoka.

The Rockets are rebuilding and have a young and promising core. The difference on the part of Udoka is that when he took over the Celtic, he had multiple proven stars such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart among others.

In Houston, he will inherit the likes of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. Although these players are gifted, they need proper guidance.

With Udoka in tow, this could be a new challenge as the Rockets try to rebuild and get back on the winning track.

Should it be made official, it appears to be a sensible working relationship with all parties concerned in Houston.

One person who is happy for Udoka is Los Angeles Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

The 63-year-old retired NBA player expressed his happiness for Udoka on accepting the Houston Rockets head coaching position.

"I reached out to Ime Udoka to say congratulations on accepting the Rockets head coaching job! Houston is getting a championship-caliber coach," the five-time NBA champion stated on Twitter.

Udoka will take over from Stephen Silas who failed to make things work although there were circumstances that played a factor.

With high chances of possibly adding more promising young talent, Udoka is expected to try and work things out with the young cagers and hopefully improve on Houston's 22-60 win-loss record in the Western Conference during the 2022-23 NBA season.