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Ime Udoka Is Back! After Missing The Entire Season The Former Celtics Coach Has Agreed To Take Over The Houston Rockets

Adam Glanzman. Getty Images.

And there it is!

Any time a coach was fired in the NBA, until Ime locked in a new home, he was always going to be rumored a candidate. Whether it was the Nets, the Raptors, the Rockets, in terms of basketball stuff, he's absolutely one of the best available options. While he only had one season to prove he could handle that role, what he did while running the Celtics shouldn't just be thrown out the window because he was also a Grade A weirdo who couldn't keep his dick in his pants. Anyone who willingly fumbles both a NBA title contender AND Nia Long is certainly not exactly what I would call smart

and the crazy part is we STILL don't know what truly went down in Boston. Even that Woj follow up tweet tells us jack shit. Oh, they did a probe? Well, what did they learn? To go this long and still have no leaks whatsoever of what actually happened is pretty nuts in 2023. There are rumors sure, but nobody has the scoop and is on record? Maybe that will now come with Ime finding another job, but who knows? Again, this was bad enough to suspend him for the year, then fire him, but didn't keep him from getting another job. Remember this?

The whole thing is still so very bizarre, even all these months later.

I will say though, it is very funny that Ime ultimately ended up in Houston. I mean those jokes write themselves. To go from a team that is contending for NBA titles to a team that won 22 games is quite the fall from grace, but an NBA job is an NBA job I guess. On some level, I actually do think Ime will help that team and young core develop and grow up, just like he did in his one year in Boston. It's no secret that the Rockets have some maturity issues with their players, and Ime will help provide some structure.

But it is a little weird that an organization that has its own culture issues is now bringing in a guy who clearly did not give a fuck about any of that (allegedly). The thing is, until we know what truly happened with Ime, how are the women who work for the Rockets supposed to feel? If you remember, that pushback is what supposedly played a role in costing him the Nets job after they fired Steve Nash, so it'll be fascinating to hear what everyone has to say at his introductory press conference.

Who knows, maybe the Rockets land Wembanyama, Ime goes to James Harden and talks about all the damage they can do at the local strip joints together, and maybe he comes back too. It's not like the Rockets can get much worse from a basketball standpoint, so I get why they rolled the dice. There may not be a bigger difference going from Stephen Silas to Ime Udoka as people, so we'll see if it actually translates to the floor.

If I had to guess though, this is not the end of the story. It's probably just the beginning. Would it shock anyone if things magically started getting leaked/reported now that he has another job? He's no longer the Celtics problem, he found work, so I say it's time to find out what the hell he even did.