NBA Rumors: Ime Udoka among candidates for Rockets, Pistons HC jobs

Report: Ime Udoka among candidates for these HC jobs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Ime Udoka may not be unemployed for much longer.

The former Boston Celtics head coach is among the candidates being considered for the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons head coaching positions, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Houston declined the fourth-year option on Stephen Silas' contract and Dwane Casey will transition to a front-office role for Detroit.

Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel are the other "prominent" candidates for the Rockets job along with Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse if he becomes available, per Wojnarowski.

Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, and Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn join Udoka as candidates for the Pistons gig.

NBA Playoff Picture: East bracket, Celtics' potential opponents set

Udoka led the Celtics to an NBA Finals berth in lone season as head coach but was issued a season-long suspension by the organization before the 2022-23 campaign for "violations of team policies." Boston named Joe Mazzulla as its interim head coach and officially removed the interim tag in February.

With Mazzulla at the helm, the Celtics repeated as the second-place team in the Eastern Conference. Their quest to return to the Finals and bring Banner 18 to Boston will begin next weekend.