Following their elimination in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics have a series of questions to answer this offseason.
Besides the rumors about a potential Jaylen Brown exit, many fans think that head coach Joe Mazzulla should be released by the team.
Almost a year after they suspended Ime Udoka, the Celtics are again surrounded by rumors of a potential head coach firing.
Former team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge recently gave his opinion on this situation, saying that Joe Mazzulla is actually a better coach than Ime Udoka.
Danny Ainge believes Joe Mazzulla is a better coach than Ime Udoka
“You see Joe’s toughness and stubbornness. He’s a relentless worker. He has a passion to learn. Joe is a leader, and I think this was a difficult situation with the high expectations the team had coming in. I… pic.twitter.com/1a66EImlt7
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 3, 2023
Fans reacted to these remarks, criticizing Ainge and making the case for Udoka, who took the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season as a head coach.
No he’s not 😂 there wasn’t one coaching decision Ime made that we questioned…like not one
— @BlackBostonSportsFan (@BlackBostonSpo2) June 3, 2023
Ime had this exact same team in the Finals after they cleaned up KD, Kyrie, Giannis, and Jimmy.
Joe struggled with Trae Young, Washed Harden and Injured Embiid, then lost to Jimmy and a bunch of undrafted guys.
Ime clears Joe
— Don Dada (@playboi_4) June 3, 2023
is he sure?
— adgy (@bagelluvr45) June 3, 2023
That’s why they home right now. 😂🤣
— Donald Paul (@Donald_Paul) June 3, 2023
Multiple assistants left for Houston directly after the season was over
— ⚡⚡Flash Gordon⚡⚡ (@QB3QB3) June 3, 2023
After Udoka reportedly had an affair with a female Celtics staffer, the team suspended him for a year.
It wasn’t until after the end of the 2022-23 NBA regular season that the coach found a new opportunity in the league and signed with the Houston Rockets.
At the time, they promoted Joe Mazzulla to the head coaching job, and he did a solid job, taking the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Nevertheless, the playoffs showed that he still has work to do to become an elite coach, but the team still fought hard.
Ainge, who now works for the Utah Jazz, has supported Mazzulla, but everything can change next season for the head coach.
Depending on how the Celtics fare next year, we could be talking about Mazzulla being fired, but time will tell how this situation unfolds.
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