Ime Udoka gutting Celtics coaching staff

[Mahk E Mahk]

Considering this thread started with a fantasy narrative about a non-poaching clause, I can't blame you.

Ultimately the best we can do is speculate, and this is going to cause people to disregard what they don't want to hear - I don't know if you've got an Athletic subscription, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who will read the quote from the team source who claims Mazzulla was "super hard" on the Jays as well as the role players behind closed doors and claim it's not rooted in reality because it doesn't fit their preferred narrative either.

care to elaborate on the fantasy narrative?

[Kernewek]

Considering this thread started with a fantasy narrative about a non-poaching clause, I can't blame you.

Ultimately the best we can do is speculate, and this is going to cause people to disregard what they don't want to hear - I don't know if you've got an Athletic subscription, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who will read the quote from the team source who claims Mazzulla was "super hard" on the Jays as well as the role players behind closed doors and claim it's not rooted in reality because it doesn't fit their preferred narrative either.

care to elaborate on the fantasy narrative?

Sure, and apologies for the shorthand if it felt dismissive. Wasn't my intent

Short explanation:
Ownership won't go for it because allowing that kind of language into one head coach's contract would be an impediment to how the league likes to function, as well as very quickly creating a massive amount of extra work for every front office. The coach's union won't go for it because why on earth would they?

Longer explanation:
Like I said earlier, Udoka is a member of the NBCA, which means that the nuts and bolts of his contract (and every head coach's contract) are largely the results of how good his agent is (Monty Williams must have a very good agent, judging by his deal with Detroit) and the existing arrangement between the league and the coaches' union.

Given the realities of the NBA, a professional sports league where teams exist in inherent competition to the mutual benefit of all players and organisations, there's little reason for the ownership to press for any variation of a non-compete clause to this degree -- because there's almost no way the union, the coach, or the agents who represent the coaches would agree to anything like this, as it's essentially an untenable situation for coaching staff.

So, from ownership's side:
1) It would be wasted good will in labour negotiations for ownership - especially as they have some say about inter-franchise movement of their contracted coaching staff anyway. If they want to retain their coaches, they can.

2)It's actively detrimental to the smooth function of the league - in this specific case because head coaches tend to want to hire their own assistants anyway, which necessarily indicates flexible movement of coaches between franchises - since even one instance of a no-poaching language would be Pandora's box, quickly creating a massive headache for everyone involved for little to no benefit. Now, there's some argument that the contract language could be so specific as to avoid these kinds of far-reaching implications, but that would be a massive waste of time, especially in light of point 1.

Basically: the pool of available coaches is small enough as it is, teams don't want to make it more difficult for themselves or their head coaches to hire the people that they want to hire.

edit for any completionists:  the coaches' union side  is pretty straightforward. They're advocating for the best possible contracts and opportunities for all the coaches in the union. Why would they voluntarily agree to this?

[Big333223]

Most of this article doesn't say anything we haven't heard before (and some of it is downright lazy analysis) but this particular section speaks to a lot of what we've talked about in this thread before - and tampers some of the doomer speculation:

Three months later, Udoka’s suspension, which later turned into a dismissal, left the Celtics organization without a head coach just before training camp. Udoka’s punishment rocked a locker room full of love and respect for him. From the time the Celtics named Mazzulla the replacement, initially on an interim basis before he became the head coach in February, they were counting on his ability to connect with people and hold a locker room together.

In addition to the players who credited Udoka for their drastic turnaround and Finals berth one season ago, several Celtics assistants considered Udoka a close friend and joined the staff specifically to work for him. When Boston elevated Mazzulla, not even a front-row assistant last season, sources around the team said it could have created a divide between him and the other coaches with more experience and loyalty to Udoka. There was initially an “awkwardness” according to several members of the coaching staff, but Mazzulla worked to establish a culture of open communication and trust.

Damon Stoudamire, initially expected by several players and coaches to be a favorite for the interim job, later said Mazzulla contacted him upon earning the promotion. Mazzulla told Stoudamire he trusted him and considered him his right-hand man.

“Joe is a great dude,” Stoudamire said in December while acting as head coach for a game when Mazzulla was sidelined by an eye injury. “Got to know him a lot last year. Our friendship has just continued as we’ve moved forward this season.”

Beyond Udoka, the Celtics staff faced a depletion of talent that raised the difficulty of Mazzulla’s job. Will Hardy took over as Utah Jazz head coach in June and turned them into one of the NBA’s biggest surprises. Multiple team sources both on the roster and the staff said Stoudamire’s departure to lead Georgia Tech in March left a significant void in the team’s leadership structure. He was known for having a good feel for when and how to talk to players, understand their motivations, and pull from his own experiences when making recommendations for how the team should operate.

Of the remaining coaches, only Aaron Miles, who appeared in 19 games for the Warriors in 2005, reached the NBA as a player. Including Stoudamire, the Celtics essentially lost three coaches without replacing any of them.

“It’s not like Damon had a certain power, but players really respected him,” said one team source. “Joe used Damon to have a guy that’s been here that’s played that can speak to them. Damon could speak their language and no one else on the staff can do (it).”

https://theathletic.com/4569899/2023/06/01/boston-celtics-joe-mazzulla-wyc-grousbeck-season-recap/

The bolded bit is exactly what I was talking about before. These coaches who immediately jumped ship to go work with Ime again had one foot out the door. What did that do to the locker room? How much confusion was caused by having half a staff not really be invested?

It'll be interesting to see how Joe coaches next season when he has a staff that actually wants to work under him.