CANTON -- Anyone who went to Celtics media day for clarification of the Ime Udoka scandal was in the wrong place.
Celtics players know as much about what happened as you or me, and they seem to be figuring it out in real time like the rest of us. When Jayson Tatum was asked how he found out, he said “on Twitter, just like everybody else.” Jaylen Brown probably summed up everyone’s reactions when he said “I think I was overall shocked by what was going on, a little confused, a little bit but a lot of the information wasn't being shared with us or members of the team so you can't really comment on it.”
That information may never get to the players, either. While that makes processing the bombshell of losing the coach with whom they’ve built relationships and who helped guide them to the Finals, there is an understanding that wearing a uniform doesn’t entitle them to anything more.
“Literally no one knows anything right now. We're still waiting just like everybody else. So as a player, you'd like to know, but that's none of our business,” Marcus Smart said. “It's their lives, the people that are involved. It's between them and we should respect that privacy and we understand, just like we want our privacy respected. Although as a player, yeah, you'd like to know, but it's not an obligation.”
The story is still new enough that the shock of it all still hasn’t subsided. Everyone who sat down to take questions had a similar reaction. No one knows much, the whole thing is a bit confusing, but practice starts tomorrow and they can only focus on what’s happening now. They will show up at the Auerbach Center Tuesday morning and someone is going to blow a whistle that officially begins the 2022-23 Boston Celtics season.
That whistle will now hang from Joe Mazzulla’s neck. His responsibilities have changed a lot over the past week, but he’s preaching continuity despite what feels like a lot of upheaval.
“It’s not about carrying on from one person. It’s about carrying on the identity of our players,” Mazzulla said. “So as much as we can stick to the things we were great at last year, and then find areas to improve along the way I think is the right way to go.”
Mazzulla has the backing of the front office, with Brad Stevens calling him “the best choice … by a long shot” to be the team’s head coach.
“He had a concussion that day, I think,” Mazzulla joked, adding “I've worked for a lot of great head coaches and played for great head coaches, and I think it's about taking a formula of what worked for those guys and how I can make it into making these players better.”
The players back the decision, too.
“I believe in Joe, Joe believes in me,” Brown said. “In my conversations with him, I don't think he sees a limit on my game. He's coming in excited so I'm optimistic.”
Smart says keeping the continuity by promoting from within “helps tremendously. (It) would've been different if we had somebody new that we didn't know and were trying to build that connection with. Joe has been here. He knows the scheme, he knows the players, so it makes it a little bit more easier to adjust to a guy that's been here and knows you.”
Even Malcolm Brogdon, who joined the team this summer, has picked up on Mazzulla’s positive attributes.
“He’s honestly an incredibly impressive guy,” Brogdon said. “Joe, I think, is only 34 years old, but he’s incredibly disciplined. The first thing I picked up on Joe is he’s in the gym lifting, I’m one of the first guys lifting, he’s in there lifting every morning. He’s a guy that is so detail-oriented. I am like-minded with people that are detail-oriented…
The players respect and love him, his ability to put together (scouting reports), I heard against Miami and against a few teams last year in the playoffs were brilliant, and he’s gotten that reputation around the league as well as I’ve talked to people. So I think he’s a guy that’s ready for this opportunity and is going to thrive in it.”
The NBA coach/player dynamic is more collaborative than it is on any other level, and that will be especially necessary now for the Celtics. Mazzulla has learned a lot along the way, but this is more than just the challenge of a first time head coach. To navigate through the confusion and unwanted attention caused by Udoka, it will take a joint effort from the players, especially the team’s stars.
“It definitely puts your leadership to the test. Not just mine, but all of ours,” Brown said. “We’ll see. Obviously things haven’t gone the way we expected, but like I said, that’s life. The best thing you can do is move on.”