Details of Ime Udoka’s violation of team policy begin to emerge

Sleep was a mere wish after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski hit us with an intentionally vague, late-night bomb regarding Celtics head coach Ime Udoka late Wednesday evening.

We simply had to know what was enough for the team to potentially hit the second-year Celtics coach, who took the team to the NBA Finals in his first year on the job, with a potentially lengthy suspension.

The way it was worded from Woj, it could have been absolutely anything.

But The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the man who is always in a 12-round, scoops war with Woj for top NBA insider status, put us all to bed last night with his own update on the situation, which confirmed that this is indeed a personal issue for Udoka and the Celtics.

Beyond the obvious of relationships within the organization being apparently frowned upon by the Celtics, Udoka, as far as we know, is not a single man.

In fact, Udoka has famously been in a relationship with actress Nia Long since 2010. The two have a child together, and Long and Udoka have been engaged since 2015. (A seven-year engagement may seem odd, but the couple later said that getting married was not exactly a top priority for them.)

As for what it means for the C’s coach, Wojnarowski has reported that while a suspension is likely coming, it doesn’t seem that Udoka’s job with the club is in jeopardy.

During an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter late Wednesday evening, Wojnarowski called the situation ‘jarring’ for the organization, and said that clarity on Udoka’s status could come as early as Thursday, giving the fallout about a ’24 to 48 hour window’ to drop.

Wojnarowski also noted that the Celtics have yet to land on a number for a suspension, and that it’s possible that the Celtics could keep Udoka out for the entire 2022-23 season with a suspension.

This would be a massive blow to a Celtics team that’s entering 2022-23 with a reloaded group and thinking championship of bust after making it to the 2022 NBA Finals.

Udoka, who joined the C’s in June 2021, led the team to a 51-31 record during the year, and helped guide them to the Finals on a run that included two Game 7 victories before they came up short in a six-game series against the Golden State Warriors.