Marcus Smart.Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Boston Celticspoint guardMarcus Smartshared his disappointment that Boston’s suspended former coachIme Udokawill likely accepta head coaching position with the Brooklyn Nets.
During an interview after Boston’s single-point loss to theCleveland Cavaliers, Smart, 28, said he and the Celtics players were told Udoka’s time away from the team “was just a suspension” and that the situation “is a tough spot for everybody” involved, according toThe Boston Globe.
On Tuesday, after the Nets parted ways with head coach Steve Nash,Shams Charaniaof The Athletic andESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowskisaid that the NBA team was readying to hire Udoka, 45, who was suspended for one year after the organization found that he had engaged in an intimate relationship with a female staffer. The news came as a surprise to Celtics players, Smart said.
“We didn’t know he was leaving to go coach somebody else,” said Smart, who was under the impression that “they just suspended [Udoka] for the year” and that he’d “be back” coaching the team next season.
Ime Udoka.Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty
The current NBA season would have been Udoka’s second coaching the Boston team that he led to the NBA Finals in June.
If Udoka and the Brooklyn Nets do work out a deal, it would be very unlikely he would return to the Boston Celtics next season, or at any point.
“Now [Udoka]’s possibly going to take a job right down the street from us and be coaching the same guys we were trying to beat to get to where we were last year,” Smart added.
Smart said that the NBA community predicted Udoka would “probably never coach again” after the scandal. “And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals?”
Omar Rawlings/Getty Images
Smart said the players “obviously thought” that Udoka would return to coach them next season, but clearly, “the team and organization felt a different way.”
The possibility that the head coach who led the Celtics to the finals just this year could coach another team in the same conference is “confusing” for him and his teammates. “Obviously, we wish he was here.”
Smart continued: “We have no control over that. It definitely sucks. I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him [not] to be a coach anywhere else, obviously.”
Marcus Smart.Mike Ehrmann/Getty
Despite his disappointment over the Udoka situation, Smart told theGlobethat he’s happy in Boston.
“We have to control what we can, and I love the team here. I love the coaching staff. I love [interim coach] Joe [Mazzulla].”
However, Smart told the Boston outlet that “it really doesn’t matter what” the players say to the organization’s front office. “We can voice our opinion, but I’m sure it’s going to be, ‘Yeah, we hear you.’ And that’s it.”
He added: “I’m sure they know how certain people feel. But it is tough because there’s only so much that they can say…It just sucks all around.”
RELATED VIDEO: Nia Long Speaks Out amid Fiancé Ime Udoka’s Alleged Affair, Suspension from Celtics
In September, hetold reporter Jared Weissthat the coach’s scandal had “been hell for” the players. “It happened in a time that we didn’t have any time to understand everything before media day…we just found out like you guys did, so we’re doing our best to cope.”
Smart said that despite the reports, “Nobody died, so we didn’t lose anything,” he said.
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“I still love Ime as a person and as a coach. It’s just something unfortunate that has happened to him. It doesn’t take away anything from him as a coach, from how he turned this team around.”
The Boston Celtics will next host the Chicago Bulls Friday night at TD Garden.
source: people.com
