A whirlwind summer where Celtics assistant Will Hardy took the Utah Jazz job to become the league's youngest head coach and Ime Udoka received a one-year suspension have landed a relatively unknown back-of-the-bench assistant entering his third NBA season in one of the most prominent positions in the sport.
Joe Mazzulla, at 34 years old, is now the interim head coach of the Boston Celtics.
"Joe's going to be in charge," Celtics president Brad Stevens said at Friday's news conference. "It's not an easy timing for him or the rest of the staff, but he's an exceptionally sharp and talented person. I believe strongly in him and his ability to lead people, his ability to galvanize a room and get behind him, and his ability to organize and understand all that comes with running a team during a season ... this will be an unbelievable challenge, but I'm really confident in the team and coaching staff that's going to take the court on Tuesday. It's not what we expected to have had happened, but I'm very confident."
Stevens hired Mazzulla as an assistant in 2019 following his first head coaching job at Division II Fairmont State, where he led them to a 43-17 record across two seasons and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Mazzulla assisted the Maine Red Claws during the 2016-17 season and played point guard for Bob Huggins' prominent West Virginia program from 2006-2011. He was born in Johnston, Rhode Island, one hour from Boston, and led Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick to three state championships before getting recruited by Rhode Island and Boston University, among others, before committing to John Beilein at West Virginia.
Mazzulla keyed an NCAA Tournament upset over Duke in 2008 after Huggins succeeded Beilein and trouble began for Mazzulla, including an arrest that summer for aggravated assault, hindering apprehension and underage drinking while attending a Pittsburgh Pirates game. He played only seven games in the next season before a major shoulder injury threatened his career, one Huggins said a player has never returned from, but he did.
After his redshirt season concluded, Mazzulla was arrested again in April 2009, this time charged with domestic battery for allegedly grabbing a woman's neck at a bar. Huggins suspended Mazzulla, who stepped away from the team to get treatment.
“If you see me play and the passion and the emotion that I play with, not being able to play for such a long period of time, I didn’t know where to release that," Mazzulla told the New York Times in 2010. "I couldn’t find an identity and couldn’t find an outlet.”
Stevens read those articles when he first considered having him on his staff after he spoke at a Celtics clinic during his Fairmont State tenure. Mazzulla had returned from his suspension to play two more years and graduate from West Virginia, turning to coaching without overseas or NBA playing prospects, and when those transgressions came up he spoke to Stevens about how they transformed him as a person.
They rightfully came up once the Celtics chose Mazzulla to follow Udoka in the wake of his controversial suspension from the team ahead of this season, reportedly in part due to unwanted comments toward a female employee and officially multiple violations of team policy. Mazzulla meeting the standards to join the organization was one thing. Him becoming the voice of a franchise in a trying and healing moment is another. Stevens put his own reputation on the line backing Mazzulla for that role on Friday. Mazzulla will have his own moment to answer in camp.
"I vetted that," he said. "Really thoroughly and I will tell you this. I believe strongly in Joe's substantiveness as a person. He's been very open with me about how those moments have impacted him in every which way and you can see it in the way he carries himself. You could see that for a long time, we've had years to get to know him ... I believe strong that that probably shaped him into who he is in a really, really good way. He'll be the first to tell you he's 110% accountable for that and I'll be the first to tell you that I believe in him."
When Mazzulla joined the Celtics, he took on a developmental role with younger players like Romeo Langford, who he famously worked with using a ping pong paddle to remove a hitch from Langford's shot, Carsen Edwards, then Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard one year later. The latter two entered the NBA with little time between the draft and regular season games during the abbreviated 2020 offseason. He worked hands-on with players, spending hours before games last year working through shooting motions with Nesmith last season after Udoka kept him on his staff as the only holdover from Stevens' coaching tenure after he transitioned to the front office.
Mazzulla had to play catch up as Boston's Summer League head coach in 2020, working with those players who received limited minutes the season prior on evolving their game in ways that could impact last year's roster, particularly playmaking. Udoka was preparing to implement his own imperatives and style on the roster. Pritchard stood out as one of the top players in that setting, as did Nesmith, who showed flashes scoring off the dribble while Edwards and Langford would show much of the same before the team moved on from them into next season.
Udoka trusted Mazzulla to help transition the organization from one staff and system to the next. Mazzulla got his chance to speak as the face of the team that August with deference toward his players that'll definitely be a departure from Udoka's critical public approach to discussing his team.
"I think in any coaching change, the most important thing is the environment of your building, the culture that you implement and I think your language," Mazzulla said before Summer League last year. "We're just focused on playing fast on both ends of the floor, making sure we're organized and just making sure we're implementing our language on both ends of the floor so we're on the same page when the season starts ... we're just trying to set the right environment for the gym, make sure we're organized here ... this week is the first week that some of the new staff members have been here and we're just trying to learn about each other, trying to communicate, trying to build trust and make sure we're organized for when the players are in the gym. We've done a great job of having development plans for the young guys, being organized."
That role should translate well to this new one, where it's hard to imagine Mazzulla making substantial changes to the system the Celtics learned and played under Udoka last season on the fly. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will remain focal points offensively, the defense should still feature heavy switching and aggressiveness, while pace and ball movement in transition will drive much of the team's scoring.
The challenge Stevens acknowledged Mazzulla will be thrust into is a cultural one. Many of the players had strong relationships with Udoka, with trust that built up over one year through early rough patches that allowed him to speak plainly to the team about their weaknesses, challenge their toughness and convince stars to buy into their role. Udoka's success year one was as much about belief as it was any structural changes.The Athletic highlighted how Udoka hesitated to be tough on his stars before his assistants urged him to be himself and no-holds-bars film sessions and meetings became a staple through last year's historic turnaround.
Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck acknowledged players were concerned upon learning of Udoka's suspension this week and that it was not welcome news. Media day on Monday will reveal more about how players have individually reacted to jarring news and the level of trust that exists between the organization and locker room regarding how the team handled this situation.
Udoka's staff, including Damon Stoudamire, Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and more remain, and although Udoka named Mazzulla his top assistant in July with the possibility he'd be the one to take over in case of his absence, that decision stemmed from his ability to do Hardy's job from the bench last season, a largely strategic one. Utah interviewed Mazzulla for its head coaching job too and hoped he'd join Hardy's staff like former Celtics assistant Evan Bradds did, but Boston reportedly moved to retain Mazzulla.
"We like to grow from within," Udoka said then. "That's why we give a lot of our younger guys behind the bench, not only them, but our player enhancement guys an opportunity to work with guys and grow a voice and work on their craft throughout the season so we can continue to push guys out. Joe's name was out there and I'm sure Damon and Ben will all start to get (head coaching) looks eventually ... with Will (Hardy), I'd hoped I'd get him for another year or so, but happy for his opportunity. (I) knew that coming in it was going to be short-lived and he'd get these opportunities. That's why we wanted to give them responsibility, help them grow, that's kind of what (Gregg Popovich) did with us in San Antonio to be ready for our opportunity."
This isn't a matter of experience, because Mazzulla has relatively little, though some young coaches like Pat Riley (36), Jeff Van Gundy (34) and Erik Spoelstra (38) succeeded taking over talented rosters they were assistants on due to their ability to command the room. If NBA coaching chops was the most important factor, Stevens himself probably would've given more consideration to returning to his role on the bench and he didn't, despite Grousbeck apparently raising that possibility over the past month. Stevens had no doubt Mazzulla represented the best choice for this moment, whether due to intangibles he saw over the past three years, reluctance to take over a role he helped make the decision to remove Udoka from or wanting to maintain continuity on last year's staff while focusing fully on his front office role.
The most important thing for the Celtics is to rally and focus internally, and Stevens said there's currently no plan to position an outside veteran coach alongside him. He'll do his best to support Mazzulla without interfering, much like he did with Udoka. The interim coach already has another crucial fan who advocated for him to stay on the coaching staff during the Udoka transition.
"I love Joe," Tatum said at the NBA Finals. "Just being around him ... you can tell how passionate he is about the guys and his craft and he's gotten so much more knowledgable and more detailed and just more vocal and more comfortable in his role as a coach. You've seen a growth from his first year and he's helped me out tremendously as a player and as a person, so I can't say enough good things about Joe and everyone appreciates what he brings to this team and I'm glad that we have him."
Here's what else happened in the NBA this week:
Atlanta: The Hawks began training camp on Friday and will travel to Abu Dhabi for a portion of camp and exhibitions against the Bucks on Oct. 6 and 8. De'Andre Hunter said he feels healthy after playing 53 games last season through wrist and ankle injuries. He also tore his meniscus the year prior and is extension-eligible ahead of his restricted free agent next offseason. The team previewed an adjustment period for Dejounte Murray and Trae Young as they join forces this year, GM Landry Fields said, and concerns about John Collins' injured finger that still appeared ugly in offseason photos may be more visual than physical. Fields thinks Collins will be fine to start the season.
"Our two primary ballhandlers -- those guys are competitors," Fields said. "I expect them to make the necessary adjustments. But the reality of the situation is, like in any course of development, there’s going to be conflict (first). I don’t mean that as a negative connotation. There’s some friction that has to take place in order for us to grow through that. We’ll see what that looks like. At the end of the day, (Murray and Young) have to perform.”
Boston: Suspended head coach Ime Udoka for one year after an outside investigation found multiple violations of team policy, team governor Wyc Grousbeck said at a Friday press conference. Udoka's status with the team beyond this season is uncertain as assistant Joe Mazzulla takes on an interim role having only led Division II Fairmont State in his young coaching career. Reports have alleged Udoka had an improper relationship with a female employee that the team became aware of in July and perceived was consensual before a report she accused Udoka of unwanted comments. Udoka apologized in a statement on Thursday and accepted the team's decision to suspend him, but reportedly declined to resign from his position.
Mazzulla has been a Celtics assistant since 2019, starting under Stevens before working his way up to Udoka naming him as his assistant when Will Hardy took the Jazz head coaching job earlier this summer. Stevens said on Friday he never considered returning to the team's head coaching role, though Grousbeck said they discussed it briefly. Meanwhile, Danilo Gallinari underwent ACL surgery and Robert Williams III had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to address swelling and loose bodies in his knee. Williams III return to basketball activities in 8-12 weeks, the team said, double what initial reports of the procedure projected him to miss. The Celtics begin training camp on Tuesday.
Brooklyn: Ben Simmons addressed his mysterious past 15 months since Game 7 against the Hawks in an appearance on J.J. Redick's podcast where he defended and explained his actions that have sidelined him since that infamous loss. Simmons said he battled mental health issues during his 76ers tenure that the organization didn't support him through. He added Doc Rivers pushed him into action when Simmons said he wasn't ready, including the 2021 early season practice Rivers ejected Simmons from that effectively ended his time with the team. Simmons also broke down why he passed out of a cutting dunk against Trae Young and grew averse to shooting three-pointers in the lasting images of his bittersweet Philadelphia tenure. He looked back glowingly on his early teams and rebuffed fan and media criticism.
“I didn’t really realize that early on in my career because this started building up and I’m like, ‘They’re saying I can’t (shoot). Should I not? I’m f****** confused now," Simmons said. "It did f*** with me a lot. But I kind of found peace in a place where I’m just like f*** it, it’s basketball.”
The Nets traded James Harden for Simmons at the trade deadline in a move that settled awkward situations between the stars and their teams. Simmons never played for Brooklyn though, with a planned return for Game 4 against the Celtics canceled when Simmons and the team acknowledged physical and mental hurdles needed to be overcome for him to return to the floor. Simmons underwent back surgery soon after and denied a rumor that he checked out of the team group chat prior to that season finale. He's ready for training camp and emphasized how well he fits on a Nets roster filled with shooters and scorers, continuing to lean into his best attributes and away from shooting.
“You’re hearing it all the time from everybody, like f****** hell, get off my case,” Simmons said. “I do other things, too. I’m guarding the best players. I don’t think people respect that enough, what I bring to the court — because it’s a lot of s*** I’m bringing to the court and for me, I just want to win."
Chicago: Lonzo Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement on his left knee that's sidelined him since January and will miss 4-6 weeks. ESPN had previously reported Ball would miss training camp and into the regular season in what's become a concerning ailment since he underwent surgery to address a second meniscus tear midway through last season. He expected to return in a matter of weeks and never played again, with pain halting his ramp-up and his absence derailed a promising start to the season for the Bulls. It doesn't sound like he's made much progress since his last game on Jan. 14 toward returning to the floor, which is likely the reason for a third surgery on that knee.
Cleveland: As the fallout continues over the Cavaliers acquiring Donovan Mitchell and the Knicks failing to make the deal, Brian Windhorst revealed New York thought a contractual quirk would prevent the Cavs from acquiring the star. Due to the Derrick Rose rule, a team can only have two players signed to the five-year max rookie extension and Cleveland now has Mitchell and Darius Garland on those deals. That means if Garland and Mitchell still play for the Cavaliers in 2024, they'll be unable to sign Evan Mobley to a max extension. That does not prohibit the team from keeping him though if they deem he's worth max money, as they'll immediately be eligible to sign Mobley to a five-year max contract in free agency in 2025, when they'll have restricted rights over him. It's almost a blessing for Cleveland, buying them more time if he proves he's clearly a max player by then. All it shows is how many stars now start across the Cavaliers roster entering the 2022-23 season.
Detroit: Traded Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee for Jazz shooter Bojan Bogdanovic in a surprise solidifying roster move shortly before training camp. Bogdanovic was a steady 40.3% volume three-point shooter over the past five seasons as a wing scorer on the Pacers and catch-and-shoot specialist on the Jazz. He'll be 33 entering the final year of his contract, but brings reliable wing depth next to Cade Cunningham, Marvin Bagley III, Jaden Ivey and a core of young, physical players who have already formed an identity through losing seasons. The move marks one of the first pivots toward a win-now move for this group after an offseason where they largely maintained their cap space other than taking on Nerlens Noel, Kemba Walker and Alec Burks in cap-shedding moves by the Knicks. The trade also increased their 2023 cap space.
Golden State: Andre Iguodala will return for a 19th and final NBA season at 39 years old in pursuit of his fifth championship after returning to the Warriors team he helped make a dynasty from 2015-2018. He moved into more of a leadership role and didn't play much in the postseason as the team won the 2022 title, but his presence alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and a young ascendant core could settle some of the uncertainty regarding the core's future. One of the team's major contributors may need to go for luxury cap relief next summer, with Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Green all becoming free agents. Green has stood firm on his value and Iguodala could help focus the team's energy back on the floor for one last run for the whole core that won the 2015 championship, when Iguodala was named Finals MVP. He averaged 4.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 3.7 APG on 38% shooting in 31 games last season.
Houston: Head coach Stephen Silas looked back on the James Harden trade saga that kicked off his Rockets tenure and the losing seasons since in an interview with The Athletic. Russell Westbrook participated in the original hiring process and Silas coached John Wall through his hiatus from the team, Demarcus Cousins as his career began to decline and marathon losing streaks that have challenged his ability to develop a young core. Now, he has a core of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Kevin Porter Jr. entering the final year of his contract.
Indiana/Lakers: Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard declined to address Myles Turner extension talks, but on Thursday admitted there could be a wide range of possibilities for Turner's future entering the final season of his contract. Turner's name has consistently appeared in trade reports in recent seasons, including Lakers talks that reportedly restarted this week, but again ended with Indiana demanding multiple first-round picks. The combination of Buddy Hield and Turner's salaries would be crucial to matching Russell Westbrook's salary, with Indiana understandably trying to recoup value for two veterans while getting compensated for taking on Westbrook's $47-million contract. The question is whether any other team around the league has interest in those players, since LA has declined to offer a second pick in negotiations.
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard, who last played on June 16, 2021 when he tore his right ACL, has been cleared to return for full participation in Clippers training camp. The team will continue to integrate Leonard cautiously throughout the preseason, but the return of Leonard and Paul George 100% healed from his elbow injury, as president Lawrence Frank noted this week, positions LA on a short list of NBA championship favorites. John Wall joins the star tandem after missing the entire 2021-22 season and the trio have led team workouts in San Diego.
"Basically, Kawhi's done a lot of controlled basketball for a long time," Frank said. "Though 5-on-5 is viewed to the layman as a benchmark, it's more complicated than that. Ultimately, he keeps trending towards being able to play in an NBA basketball game, and so he'll just continue to take those steps in camp ... we know what the big picture is. We know what our goal is, and we will be very cautious and take a methodical approach."
Miami: Duncan Robinson discussed life in trade rumors and previewed a season where he'll try to break back into the Heat rotation after a letdown year to begin a sizable new contract. Robinson's uncertain status with the team will continue as Jae Crowder's name is the latest to be linked to Miami, his former team. Robinson averaged 10.9 PPG and fell to 39.9% from the field, 37.2% from three and behind Max Strus.
Milwaukee: Khris Middleton acknowledged he hopes to return to the Bucks when deciding his $40.4-million player option for the 2023-24 season and is uncertain whether he'll pick it up with a chance to become a top free agent next summer. Middleton acknowledged business factors, which could include a looming TV rights deal and possible cap space in several years, which will make the timing of new contracts crucial for veterans like Middleton. He'll be eligible for a roughly four-year, $200 million deal next summer if he declines his player option.
“I think everybody knows deep down that I want to stay," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But also, you know it’s a business. Things change, things happen. You just never know. For sure I would love to stay.“
Minnesota: The NBA fined Anthony Edwards $40,000 for what the league described as offensive and derogatory language in a homophobic social media post he later apologized for. The Timberwolves released a statement condemning Edwards' comments.
"What I said was immature, hurtful and disrespectful and I'm incredibly sorry," Edwards said. "It's unacceptable for me to anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there's no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that."
New Orleans: Zion Williamson is in fantastic shape, according to his trainer Jasper Bibbs, after he missed the entire 2021-22 season with a right foot fracture. Bibbs didn't clarify how much weight Williamson lost through diet and workout efforts this offseason, but said the star's body composition transformed through an eight-week effort to work out twice each day and overhaul his nutrition program with his chef.
"He’s laser-focused. He’s 100 percent committed," Bibbs said. "He’s taken accountability for so many of those areas of his health daily. We’re at the point now where there’s excitement and joy he gets from the daily work."
Oklahoma City: Sam Presti addressed reporters to open a season that got off to a rough start with a season-ending foot injury to No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren over the summer. He defended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's security on the roster amid speculation he could be available for the right price and wouldn't commit to the star returning for opening night after suffering a left MCL sprain. Lu Dort is healthy to begin training camp after offseason left shoulder injury. Presti also lauded Seattle as a future NBA destination, the former home of the Thunder until 2008 (FKA the Supersonics).
Phoenix: Robert Sarver will move to sell his share of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury after the NBA suspended him for one year and fined him $10 million following a year-long report and ESPN profile exposed his use of racist, sexual and misogynistic language while overseeing a toxic workplace. Team sponsor Paypal and fellow owner Jahm Najafi had come out against Sarver continuing to control the team, while players spoke out against what many deemed a lenient punishment from commissioner Adam Silver. Sarver's stake is valued at one-third of over $1.8 billion after he purchased the team for $401 million in 2004.
Elsewhere, the team has reportedly explored Jae Crowder's trade value before he tweeted and deleted that he would not be a training camp. He's entering the final season of his contract, worth $10.2 million. Crowder averaged 9.4 PPG and 5.4 RPG on 34.8% three-point shooting last season and recently turned 32.
San Antonio: Gregg Popovich will return to lead the Spurs for the 27th season, putting off speculations he'd retire amid a Spurs rebuild that transitioned the roster toward one of the youngest in the league next year. Keldon Johnson returns as Popovich's core player, while Dejounte Murray left through a trade with Atlanta. Rookies Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley should receive major opportunities immediately, while veterans Josh Richardson and Jakob Poetl should garner interest around the league if they help stabilize and lead the team.
Popovich congratulated his former assistant Becky Hammon for leading the Las Vegas Aces to a dominant run to become WNBA champions in her first season with the team. Hammon had garnered some NBA interest after rising up Popovich's bench and he added another women's basketball star to his staff by hiring Candice Dupree this week.
Utah: Didn't receive a pick for Bojan Bogdanovic after negotiating with numerous teams, including the Lakers and Suns, but Detroit's ability to absorb part of his contract into cap space to lessen the salary they needed to send back saved the Jazz some money against the tax. Utah should be able to garner more picks for some of their veterans in the future, and although moving one of the more valuable players in Bogdanovic, they'll have more flexibility to make different kinds of trades with approximately $5 million in savings. Utah had sat just $2 million below the luxury tax line.