The Boston Celtics might be without their head coach to begin the 2022-23 NBA season.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Wednesday night that Ime Udoka is facing possible disciplinary action -- including a significant suspension -- for violating organizational guidelines.
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Wojnarowski went on to add overnight that internal discussions have included suspending Udoka for the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported early Thursday morning some of the details behind the situation.
If Udoka indeed is suspended, the Celtics would have to lean on one of their assistant coaches in the interim. Joe Mazzulla would be in "serious consideration" to assume interim head coach duties, per Wojnarowski, while Damon Stoudamire, Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Tony Dobbins are also on Udoka's staff.
Losing Udoka for an extended period of time would be a tremendous blow to a Boston team that thrived in his debut season as head coach. The Celtics finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 51-31 record to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, then made it to the NBA Finals where they were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games.
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The C's will begin training camp later this month and begin the preseason on Oct. 2. The regular season opener is scheduled for Oct. 18 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.