As the head coach of a 2021-22 Boston Celtics team that reached the NBA Finals, Ime Udoka had options on the 2023 coaching marketplace before choosing to work for the Houston Rockets.
That accomplished background gave Udoka plenty of leverage in negotiations, in terms of being able to find an organizational structure to his liking. That could involve having a strong working relationship with the general manager (in Houston, Rafael Stone) and perhaps having a voice when it comes to select personnel moves.
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Per veteran beat writer Kelly Iko, that is indeed expected to be the case. Here’s what he said on Saturday’s The Athletic NBA Show:
These next few months, between now and training camp, are going to be critical in terms of him getting to know the players, and him getting a better understanding of what the Rockets want to do in free agency… which I heard he’s going to have a pretty big voice in. The draft, obviously, as well, and trying to build this thing.
For the last two or three years, it didn’t seem like there was a ton of cohesion, from top to bottom. When you combine that with young players, it leads to chaos, most of the time. We saw that chaos. Hopefully for Ime, he’s coming in now and being able to slowly build his [coaching] staff, and kind of see what the next steps are for this group.
To Iko’s point, it didn’t appear that former head coach Stephen Silas had significant input when it came to roster decisions.
The complete podcast episode, which also includes various tidbits related to the draft and free agency, can be listened to below.
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