Ime Udoka, head coach of the Boston Celtics, was suspended for the coming 2022-23 season for violations of team policies, the team announced on Friday.

ESPN revealed that Udoka had an intimate relationship with a female member of the Celtics working staff. The team will later announce his future with the franchise. At the moment, assistant coach Joe Mazzulla will act as the interim coach, according to ESPN. He is 34 years old, two years younger than the Celtics' veteran big man Al Horford.

Udoka's former top assistant coach Will Hardy left the team to become the head coach of the Utah Jazz in June. He joined Danny Ainge, who worked at the Celtics in executive positions for 18 years until departing for the Jazz as the CEO of basketball operations last December.

"I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down," Udoka said in a statement to ESPN. "I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team's decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment."

Udoka only took over as the head coach of the Celtics in June 2021 after his predecessor Brad Stevens was promoted to become the team's president of basketball operations. Udoka led the Celtics to finish the 2021-22 regular season with a 51-31 record and rank second in the Eastern Conference. Then they knocked the Brooklyn Nets (4-0), Milwaukee Bucks (4-3) and Miami Heat (4-3) in the playoffs to reach the NBA Finals.

Though the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the Finals, the promising young franchise showed people good reasons to have high expectations of them for years to come.

However, this offseason couldn't have gone more wrong for the Celtics. First, Danilo Gallinari, the Italian veteran they signed to add depth to their bench, tore the ACL in his left knee during the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifier game against Georgia. He is likely to miss the whole 2022-23 season.

Second, Jaylen Brown, who makes the Celtics' star duo with Jayson Tatum, was involved in the Kevin Durant trade drama. The deal didn't happen in the end, but the Celtics spent a lot of time and effort trying to sooth Brown. Though things now seem peaceful, Brown will be available to sign a five-year contract extension that is worth up to $275 million in 2023 summer. He already understandably rejected a three-year, $110 million extension this summer.

The Celtics have never been the league's most generous team. Neither do they have the deepest pockets, The extension negotiations with Brown next summer will make the team's front office scratch their brains.

The season suspension of Udoka has only made it more difficult for the Celtics in the 2022-23 season.