Two of the top NBA championship contenders this season – the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns – have suffered stinging scandals that have rocked their respective organisations to their very core.
The two teams were finally able to publicly weigh in on those massive events during media day, which left them – and the NBA world at large – in shock.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving similarly had an eventful summer, and they opened up on all the drama that unfolded between them and the Brooklyn Nets.
Read on below as SBOTOP shares the latest NBA 2022 news as training camps get ready to begin.
Celtics shocked by Ime Udoka suspension
After coming two wins away from winning the title last year, the NBA 2022 odds had the Boston Celtics among the favourites to go all the way this upcoming season.
However, their title hopes have been dealt a massive blow with head coach Ime Udoka’s season-long suspension for multiple violations of team rules.
The Celtics’ top stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, were unsurprisingly left in shock by Udoka’s suspension.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Tatum said. “Nobody expected this coming into the season. We were all caught off guard by everything but we gotta try to move forward and play basketball.”
“Initial reaction is we were all shocked what was going on, a little confused,” Jaylen Brown said. “But a lot of that information wasn’t being shared with us or members of the team so we can’t really comment on it.”
The Celtics have appointed Joe Mazzulla as the team’s interim coach amid Udoka’s suspension. The 34-year-old had been a Celtics assistant coach for the past three seasons, and he will be tasked with leading a team that is expected to be among the top contenders in the East.
However, he will not only be without free-agent signing Danilo Gallinari, who suffered a torn ACL while on international duty, but he will also be missing starting centre Robert Williams III for 8-12 weeks after he underwent another procedure on his knee.
Suns still in shock amid Sarver saga
The Phoenix Suns were similarly in shock amid the whole saga involving owner Robert Sarver. Sarver, who had been handed a one-year suspension and $10 million fine after an NBA investigation detailing his racist, sexist, and misogynist behaviour, recently announced his plan to sell the team.
“I would say just a state of shock,” general manager James Jones said. “You don’t want that around the organization. You don’t want that to be the issue.”
“It was tough, just like anybody, reading all the different things,” star guard Chris Paul said. “It was more so also the things that people have to endure in the workplace.”
The Suns, who won a league-leading 64 games last season, were unceremoniously eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Suns were able to hold onto young centre Deandre Ayton, who signed a four-year, $133 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers that Phoenix quickly matched. However, they appear set to part with veteran forward Jae Crowder, who has requested to sit out training camp and is hoping to get traded away from the team.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving discuss Nets drama
After a disappointing campaign where they went 44-38 and were swept in the first round of the playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets also had quite a dramatic offseason as their two superstars – Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving – expressed their displeasure with the team.
Durant requested a trade from the team and also delivered an ultimatum to trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks. But the Nets held firm with their high asking price for a Durant trade, and Durant eventually rescinded his trade request.
Despite Durant trying to get them fired, both Nash and Marks believe the situation in Brooklyn is better now.
Before all the drama with Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets were unable to come to terms on a new contract. Irving could have opted out and become a free agent this summer, but he instead decided to pick up his $36.5 million player option and will be a free agent next summer.
Irving opened up about how he turned down a four-year extension because of his decision not to get vaccinated for Covid-19.
“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision,” Irving said during Nets media day on Monday. “[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you’re going to be in this league, whether you’re going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision.”
But amid all the turmoil of trade requests and contract talks, Durant and Irving are still in Brooklyn and will look to lead the Nets to a bounce-back season.
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