1st Down: Ime Udoka, according to sources, will not be on the Boston Celtics bench for a ‘significant’ among of time. The head coach, reportedly, will be dealt a suspension by the team for an inappropriate consensual relationship with a member of the team’s staff. It’s being said that no decision has been made of yet, and that one possibility is that Udoka will miss the entirety of the season. It is not being reported that he is in danger of losing his job. Udoka comes off becoming just the fifth coach in the last 25 years to reach a Finals in his first season. It looks as if assistant Joe Mazzulla would be the interim when the suspension is handed out by the team, but that is still not official.
2nd Down: After months and months of turmoil, the owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury is going to be selling the teams. Robert Sarver has been embroiled in controversy, and following the NBA’s decision to suspend him for a year and fine him $10 million, he has opted to just sell the teams and get out of the business in wake of criticism. Commissioner Adam Silver had previously said that he had no cause to take the teams away from him, but he said he ‘fully supports’ this call by Sarver. Sarver is not 100% owner, but he has the right to sell unilaterally.
3rd Down: Mike Evans has lost his appeal of a one-game suspension, and he will be miss out this weekend as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Green Bay Packers in a potential playoff preview. The wide receiver got into an altercation with New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore this past Sunday, and it has cost his team their best receiver for what could be critical game. Evans’ only previous suspension was also a one-game ban following an altercation with the very same Lattimore, so there is precedent here.
4th Down: The Washington Commanders could have been the landing spot for the Jimmy Garoppolo, according to the latest reports. However, his offseason surgery to repair his shoulder ultimately prevented the San Francisco 49ers from being able to find a willing trade partner, keeping him in town. That, though, looks to have been for the best as Trey Lance went down to injury in week 2, meaning ‘Jimmy G’ is back in the starter role for the rest of the season for the Niners.
