Udoka didn’t want that mediocre Toronto job anyways the only upside piece they have is Scottie Barnes
Bro he didn’t even care to give other teams a chance. He straight up said he didn’t want no trash ass mediocre ass can’t even get 7th seed ass Raptors Ime didn’t want Fred’s 30 year old can’t even win a play in game ass like so many people on this board do
Toronto is an extremely woke organization/media market. Ramona Shelburne mentioned that after Nurse was fired and Ime was viewed as the front runner the media was already in a frenzy in Toronto over the off court allegations before he even interviewed. Rumors are that played a role in Udoka choosing Houston which is a more easy going media market that wouldn’t try to scrutinize his personal matters and attempt to cancel him at every turn. Go woke go broke, better for us!
That just sounds like horseshit from a French-speaking reporter who doesn't have any inside knowledge on anything. Did the aggressive Toronto media play a factor in his decision?? Maybe. But from everything I have seen from Ime, it doesn't seem like that's something that would scare him off from a job he really wanted. He seems to be a pretty direct and up-front person, and ultimately winning cures all. I just doubt very much that he absolutely wanted the Toronto job over the Houston job, but that the media frenzy led him to choose this one instead. The reality is most likely that he already viewed the Houston job as more favorable compared to other realistic situations, and since we acted fast, he didn't feel the need to wait for any more openings.
[Iko] Inside Rockets’ hiring of Ime Udoka: Poolside chats, pragmatism and new beginnings https://theathletic.com/4449700/2023/05/01/rockets-hiring-ime-udoka-houston/ This seems to align with Jake Fischer’s report about potentially packaging Green in a trade Rockets we’re concerned that Toronto or Detroit may sign Udoka so they signed him instead of bringing Nurse, Udoka, and Vogel in for another round of interviews.
On Tuesday, with the interview 24 hours away, Udoka reached out to Stone via text. He informed Stone he was flying into Houston and asked to meet later that evening. This was an atypical request with regard to formal proceedings, but a necessary one. In the same manner Udoka wanted to get to know Stone, Stone wanted to get to know Udoka. After some coordination, the two agreed to meet at the Post Oak hotel that night, settling on an area adjacent to the pool behind the lobby. For the next few hours, well past midnight, the two talked poolside. Naturally, some basketball talk came up, but it was more a philosophical conversation than anything else. The early nerves of their first meeting wore off quickly, becoming a natural, easy session. It was an important icebreaker. The next morning, Udoka arrived at the Toyota Center for a tour of the facilities and a meet and greet with members of the organization before joining Stone and Witus in the war room for the interview. When he was first asked about the current roster and how he would get the most out of the group, Udoka opened by admitting the team was more talented than he had initially assumed. He had discovered that by watching the games he had been assigned beforehand. […] As part of the Rockets’ interview process, the group would break before returning for the second half. So after the morning’s session, Udoka, Stone and Witus relocated to The Palm, a steakhouse less than a mile from the arena, for lunch. There, the trio was joined by Patrick Fertitta, son of owner Tilman Fertitta and a key figure in Houston’s decision-making over the last few seasons. Patrick outlined why the Rockets were in their current state, having inherited a team on the verge of becoming a perennial contender but had plummeted over the last three seasons. He explained that despite the optics, every decision the organization had made recently was through the lens of getting back to being a championship team. Udoka made it clear he wasn’t looking for a team that would be fine with returning to the playoffs or out in the first round. Having been on the game’s biggest stage, he wanted to return. That sentiment resonated with Houston’s brass. After lunch, Patrick brought Udoka back to the Post Oak for the final and most important meeting — one with Tilman Fertitta. Given that Stone and Tilman were already well aligned, he knew Tilman trusted his word. Stone, wanted Tilman to meet Udoka for himself and come to his own conclusions without any preconceived bias. Udoka and Tilman were supposed to meet for roughly an hour. In the midst of their conversation, they learned they had some commonalities. “What we like about (Udoka) is his ability to coach a basketball team,” Tilman said. “He’s going to hold these guys to toughness, respectability, accountability. It’s everything how I like to run a business — structure and everybody having the right guy they can communicate with.” Udoka asked Tilman about his level of involvement with the team, his commitment to the city, franchise and ultimately, winning. Tilman’s desire for an NBA championship is well-documented dating back to when he first purchased the team in 2017. He’s made no secret of his expectations and expressed that to Udoka. “Hopefully, soon, I won’t be up here for anything except to tell you how great it was to win a championship,” Tilman Fertitta said. “That’s in Phase 3. You had to crawl, now we’re gonna walk and then we’re gonna run.” Udoka expressed a willingness to be open and creative, especially with a Rockets roster featuring different types of players. Most importantly, however, he would bring order to a team that was beginning to grow accustomed to chaos. The meeting lasted several hours longer than expected before Udoka met Stone and Witus again for dinner around 9:30 p.m. By the time Udoka left the building Tilman was sold. He spoke to Stone and his son Patrick, and expressed a readiness to finalize something with Udoka as soon as possible. The next day, the Rockets brass met again. Stone and Udoka continued to correspond over the next 48 hours, shorter conversations by text and longer ones by phone. When Nurse was officially fired by the Raptors on Friday afternoon, emergency talks were held. Nurse’s camp had already communicated interest to Houston and there were thoughts as to whether or not the team should proceed with their original plan of a second round of interviews the following week, bringing Udoka, Vogel and now Nurse into the equation. The Rockets figured the new opening in Toronto might appeal to Udoka, especially given a more talented roster and his close relationship with Raptors president Masai Ujiri. The Detroit Pistons were another rebuilding organization looking for a new head coach. Still, Stone kept his aggressive approach. Although the Rockets didn’t want to rush things, they hoped to have the interview process done before the upcoming draft combine. Internal talks continued well into the weekend and despite Nurse being championed on social media as the popular choice, the winds were blowing stronger in Udoka’s direction. By Sunday evening, it was clear, according to league and team sources, that Udoka was the choice. On Monday morning, the remainder of the front office received a notification to join a Zoom call. It was a briefing, notifying them that their near-two-week process was coming to an end. Later that afternoon, Udoka signed a four-year contract, reportedly worth $28.5 million. It’s been less than a week since Udoka was officially unveiled by the organization as the Rockets’ new head coach, but he’s already begun the process of immersing himself in “Phase 2.” According to team sources, he’s started reaching out to potential assistants. Given many of the supporting staff in Boston worked under Udoka, the Celtics assistants might be a logical starting point, but that’s more of an educated guess. […] In his introductory press conference, Udoka said he plans to get in contact and spend time with the young players in Houston. There’s a lot of anticipation and excitement about working with Udoka from the players, notably guard Jalen Green, according to sources. At the conclusion of his second season, Green was told he was going to be pushed and held accountable in the next phase of Houston’s rebuild, a notion that lines up with Udoka’s hire and one that the 21-year-old was fully on board with, sources said.
