The Boston Celtics have suspended coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season due to a reported consensual but improper intimate relationship with a Celtics staff member.

It’s a bold decision that came together quickly, and in the wake of it there has been a wave of information and questions. Here are just a few of the topics around the Udoka suspension.

• While the relationship between Udoka and the staffer was consensual, it was not always smooth and that may have led to how this quickly became an issue for the Celtics, as reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Some members of the Celtics organization first became aware of the relationship in July, sources said. At that time, team leadership was led to believe by both parties that the relationship was consensual. But sources said that the woman recently accused Udoka of making unwanted comments toward her — leading the team to launch a set of internal interviews.

• Celtics legend Paul Pierce came in with the take that the franchise came down too hard on Udoka — and then he got hammered on Twitter for that take.

It should just be a fine not a suspension 🤷🏾‍♂️

• Udoka’s future with the Celtics remains unclear, both whether they ask him to return and whether he will want to. However, Udoka will have options — when other coaching positions open up during the next year, expect those teams to reach out to Udoka to gauge his interest, something Adrian Wojnarowski emphasized on ESPN.

• While he is not a household name with fans, new interim/head coach Joe Mazzulla is popular with Celtics’ players. Here is what Jayson Tatum had to say about him last spring, via Chris Forsberg at NBC Sports Boston.

“I love Joe,” said Tatum. “I think just being around him … you could tell how passionate he is about the guys and his craft. He’s gotten so much more knowledgeable, more detailed, just vocal. More comfortable in his role as a coach. You’ve seen a growth from his first year.

“He’s helped me out tremendously as a player and as a person. I can’t say enough good things about Joe. Everybody appreciates him, what he brings to this team. I’m glad that we have him.”

There is also this from Fox Sports.

The players took to him,” said Scott Morrison, a Celtics assistant at the time and Mazzulla’s head coach during his time with the Red Claws. “He tells them what it is without being abrasive and in my experience, players like that. They like being coached.”

• He may be well liked, but Mazzulla, 34, is being thrown into the deep end — his only head coaching experience was at Fairmont State in West Virginia, a Division II school. That could have the Celtics looking to bring in an experienced, veteran NBA coach as an assistant to Mazzulla. One name to watch: Frank Vogel, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

• The Celtics media day is Monday, followed by the start of training camp the next day. The Celtics open the season on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Andre Iguodala is a pro’s pro, he understands how the game is played on and off the court. He’s not going to hurt his team, he’s not going to leave them hanging. Which is why it was always expected that, while he delayed the announcement, he would be coming back to the Golden State Warriors, who had left a roster spot open for him.

Iguodala made it official on his Point Forward podcast that dropped Friday — he will be back for a 19th season.

The big decision, straight from the source.

Andre and @thekidet break down what went into the call that Iguodala wrestled with all summer.

Special Pod: https://t.co/VbuT7poHQn pic.twitter.com/18w4Iqrpkr

Andre, in this special pod with co-host @thekidet, makes it very clear that this will be his last season in the NBA.

Iguodala will be a veteran voice in the locker room, something needed with a team leaning into its youth this regular season. Last season, Iguodala played in 31 games and averaged 4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in those games. He saw a little more playoff time, getting on the court in seven games, but was not a regular part of the rotation.

The Warriors enter the season as title contenders, one where the focus will be on getting a top-four seed but making sure the legs of their 30+-year-old core players — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green — are as rested and fresh as possible for the postseason. That means leaning into more minutes and a larger role for Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman.

Iguodala will be there to help guide that young core.

While speaking on Thursday for his annual preseason media availability, Thunder GM Sam Presti said that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains committed to Oklahoma City.

“Shai has made a long-term commitment here.”

It’s very strange that Presti was even asked about this considering SGA’s extension for five years and $179 million kicks in this season, but that didn’t stop the guard from being linked to the Knicks after Donovan Mitchell was sent packing to Cleveland.

“The only reason we are talking about it is because another player on another team got traded and the aggregation machine needs more content.”

The bigger question is his health, as Gilgeous-Alexander suffered a left MCL sprain and is scheduled to be re-evaluated in a couple weeks. Presti would not commit to SGA being ready for the season opener, but as everyone knows, the Thunder aren’t going to take any chances with their star player if he’s not 100 percent. SGA has played a combined 91 games over the last two seasons but Presti shot down the notion that he was injury prone.

Despite having one of the five best players in the world and an early MVP favorite on the roster, the Dallas Mavericks are not getting contender love heading into training camp. The reason is the loss of Jalen Brunson — who had emerged as the No.2 option on the team — and him not being replaced by a clear secondary shot creator.

Luka Doncic doesn’t see it that way.

Doncic sat down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews for NBA Today and said his team didn’t need to trade for another All-Star (hat tip Basketnews):

“We have great players on our team, there are plenty [of] very underrated guys that I think should be talked about more. I don’t think so, we have a great team. Number one, Dorian Finney-Smith. He’s worked really really hard, he’s one of the best defensive guys, if he’s open, he’s going to make the shot. Spencer [Dinwiddie] is going to have a big role this year. Talking about Christian Wood, he’s a new player in Dallas but I think he’s going to be huge for us.”

Two things can be true: Dallas can have quality role players (as Doncic laid out), and they still need to get an All-Star level shot creator to reach the league’s highest levels. Doncic can be good enough most nights throughout the 82-game regular season, but come the playoffs, as great as he is on that stage, there have to be more options. Defenses can make life difficult, even for Doncic, and he needs help.

Doncic also said that being MVP is on his mind.

“Yeah, hopefully. [Winning] MVP is unbelievable. If I could be named MVP, it would an enormous accomplishment, I would be so happy but you never know.”

We know that Doncic will be special — and must watch — again this season. What we don’t know is how far that can take him and the Mavericks.

Ime Udoka, the coach who in his first season helped the Boston Celtics find their identity and ride that all the way to the NBA Finals, has been suspended by the team and will not coach in the 2022-23 season.

The Celtics officially said the suspension was due to “violations of team policies.” Multiple reports say the violation was a consensual but improper intimate relationship with a Celtics staff member (a transgression because of the power dynamic in play).

pic.twitter.com/ySo5wGKrfX

Udoka released this statement to ESPN:

“I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down. 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.”

Despite rumors he might, Udoka did not resign. Whether he returns to the Celtics or not in future years is not yet decided, he was not given a guarantee he would be brought back.

This is not new to the NBA, Gersson Rosas was fired as the Timberwolves GM for having an extramarital affair with a female Minnesota staff member last year (among other concerns).

Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla reportedly will be asked to guide the Celtics (Boston lost its lead assistant last season, Will Hardy, who took over the head coaching job with the Utah Jazz). It’s a lot to put on the 34-year-old coach, a rising star in the industry — he interviewed for the Jazz job this summer — who has been thrust into the spotlight. The Celtics also will be without center Robert Williams to start the season as he undergoes another knee surgery, and they lost reserve forward Danilo Gallinari to a torn ACL.

The Celtics’ decision to come down hard on Udoka follows in the wake of — and may in part be a reaction to — the Robert Sarver situation in Phoenix. There, the behavior of the franchise owner — and a light punishment from the league — led to considerable backlash, with players speaking out and sponsors starting to pull away (Sarver has announced he will sell the team).

Udoka, who comes out of the Spurs/Gregg Popovich coaching tree, was hand selected by Brad Stevens to replace him on the bench when Stevens jumped to the front office. It took half a season and a couple of personnel moves, but the Celtics ultimately bought into what Udoka preached to them, finished the season on a 26-6 run, and carried that momentum into the playoffs.

The Celtics enter this season as one of the title favorites, but now have a coaching question to answer in an East that is unforgiving with the Bucks, 76ers, Heat, Nets and more.