The Brooklyn Nets are finalizing a deal to hire suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, and a formal agreement is expected to be reached as soon as Wednesday according to different sources.
The rumors are coming less than a month after Udoka was suspended in September as a result of having an intimate relationship with a female member of the organization. Boston granted the Nets permission to speak to Udoka and will allow him to leave freely, sources said.
It was later confirmed the employee who allegedly engaged in an affair with the Boston Celtics coach, 45, is team service manager Kathleen Nimmo Lynch, a married mother of three.
Boston is not requiring draft compensation from Brooklyn to hire Udoka, but there are discussions that are taking place before a deal can be finalized, sources said.
The Nets, who have lost six of eight games to start the season after Tuesday night’s 108-99 loss to the Bulls, will keep assistant Jacque Vaughn as the acting head coach until Udoka can start the job.
Udoka was heading into his second season at the helm in Boston after taking over in June 2021 for Brad Stevens, who became president of basketball operations. The Celtics went 51-31 in the regular season last year and made it to the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
