Ime Udoka will be hired to replace Stephen Silas as head coach of the Houston Rockets. Udoka has not coached the league since the 2022 NBA Finals when he was suspended by the Boston Celtics.
The team and Udoka have reached a deal to make him the next head coach. The news was first broken by ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN Sources: Ime Udoka has agreed to a deal to become the next Houston Rockets coach. pic.twitter.com/xhcDRDfnNJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 24, 2023
The Rockets parted ways with former Coach Silas earlier in April, ending his tenure with the team of three seasons.
Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022-2023 season due to violations of the code of conduct. He was alleged to have made inappropriate remarks toward a female staffer that he had a consensual and intimate relationship.
After his suspension, the Celtics replaced him with Joe Mazulla who went on to become a finalist for Coach of the Year.
As per Wojnarowski, the Rockets had already probed the circumstances around Udokas suspension and departure from Boston.
Before hiring Udoka, the team was also linked with Nick Nurse, the former coach for the Toronto Raptors who helped coached the team to the 2019 championship.
Now that the Rockets got a new coach, only the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors are in search of head coaches. Earlier this month, Dwane Casey of the Pistons announced plans to move into the teams front office.
