The Nets need Ime Udoka to answer come clean about misdeeds

A simple question, but a significant one for the Nets: Why was Ime Udoka suspended?

Why did the Celtics ban their head coach for a year? Why would Boston allow a prized coach, coming off a breakout season that fell two wins shy of an NBA title, to leave for an Eastern Conference rival?

As the Nets apparently search their hearts and search for a new head coach, they must be searching for the specifics of the case, too. Why is Udoka not coaching right now? If he wants to replace the fired Steve Nash, Udoka should have to explain himself and the situation in which he finds himself.

Because whatever thoughts that you, as a Nets fan or as a basketball fan, hold about Udoka are uninformed. A high-profile suspension that lacks real precedent also lacks publicly available facts. The only official statement from the Celtics stated Udoka was banned for “violations of team policies” and did not elaborate.

Udoka’s downfall was as stunning as it was suppressed. Let’s follow the series of reports that told the world much more about the outcome than about Udoka’s offenses:

— At 10:35 p.m. on Sept. 21, six days before the Celtics’ first practice of training camp, ESPN reported Udoka was facing “possible disciplinary action — including a significant suspension — for an unspecified violation of organizational guidelines.”

— A few hours later, at 12:50 a.m. on Sept. 22, The Athletic reported Udoka had an “improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff.”

— As the world woke up in the morning, ESPN matched that report by stating, “Udoka is likely facing a suspension for the entire 2022-2023 season for his role in a consensual relationship with a female staff member.”

— That word — “consensual” — then began to disappear from the most prominent reports. The Worldwide Leader’s version of the story dropped it, stating Udoka was involved in an “intimate relationship.”

— The Athletic reported some in the Celtics organization learned about the relationship in July and believed it to be consensual. That belief reportedly changed shortly before the suspension, when the woman accused Udoka of “making unwanted comments toward her.”

— ESPN followed by citing the independent law firm the Celtics hired to investigate, which found Udoka “used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman.”

— On Sept. 23, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens held a solemn news conference in which they revealed few specifics, but decried the speculation that had led to a witch hunt among female Celtics employees. The duo said the team was alerted of “a potential situation” involving Udoka over the summer, which led to the hiring of a firm that had finished its probe days earlier. Based on the findings, the Celtics suspended Udoka for one year, which was “well-warranted” and “backed by substantial research and evidence and fact,” Grousbeck said.

A little over six weeks later, much has changed, but the world does not know much more about Udoka. The 7-3 Celtics have thrived early in the season under interim coach Joe Mazzulla. On Nov. 1, after a 2-5 start, the Nets fired Nash and immediately were linked to Udoka, a former Nets assistant who is known to be close to Kevin Durant.

Eight days later, the Nets still do not have a head coach and reportedly are vetting Udoka. According to The Post’s Brian Lewis, Udoka was suspended for “having an affair with a married staff member, sending inappropriate text messages and a ‘volume of violations.’”

The Nets, who collect scandals rather than trophies, already are enmeshed in the Kyrie Irving controversy with a star guard who would not directly state he is not antisemitic. The backlash is coming from all sides, as one organization has managed to upset multiple marginalized groups. There are “strong voices” urging Nets owner Joe Tsai not to hire Udoka, NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday. Lewis reported the Nets are believed to have held a meeting in which “several female staff members expressed concerns” about the potential hire.

So, what do we know? Udoka was suspended for violating Celtics rules; he was involved with a female staffer in a relationship that may or may not have been consensual; he made “unwanted” or “crude” comments toward her, though the circumstances and the content of those comments are under wraps.

This account is not intended at all as a defense of Udoka, whose transgressions were significant enough to force his own team to (mostly) cut ties with its well-respected, rising head coach. But it is impossible for fans to know whether his sins eventually can be forgiven without knowing the exact nature and degree of those sins.

If the Nets believe Udoka is the answer to their on-court problems, they need to have a full accounting of what led the Celtics to take Udoka off the court. We do not know what happened, but he cannot become the Nets’ head coach without publicly answering every question to explain why he is no longer the Celtics’ head coach.

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Practice is dangerous, too

What is more dangerous: riding on an all-terrain vehicle or practicing football?

The heavy bet here is the latter.

Giants safety Xavier McKinney broke multiple fingers in an accident in Mexico during the bye week, when he was riding an off-road vehicle.

McKinney told reporters Tuesday at Giants practice that he underwent surgery and did not yet have a timeline for his return. He repeatedly stated he was enjoying a sight-seeing tour and did not want to reveal whether he was driving or a passenger in the ATV.

The injury is a brutal one for a player who has not missed a snap this season and for a 6-2 team fighting for a playoff spot. Off-field injuries particularly irritate fans and teams, who want the players focused on the Super Bowl mission at all times.

But this is football, a blood sport in which bodies clash and bones are broken every week. McKinney just as easily could have injured himself training. Instead, he tried to escape the weekly pain for one idle week and found pain anyway.

There will be a portion of fans who criticize McKinney, but the hope here is that contingent will be small. Football players should be allowed to live their lives, especially in a game that is so much about pain.

The upside-down NBA

After three weeks of play, these teams would not qualify for the postseason if the NBA season ended today:

– Nets (4-7)
– Heat (4-7)
– Warriors (4-7)
– Lakers (2-8)

The 76ers (5-6) would be the last team in the Eastern Conference play-in.

It is early enough to qualify these as slow starts rather than reasons to panic, but there is a common link involving aging stars. Stephen Curry (34) is not washed up. LeBron James (37) is still phenomenal. Jimmy Butler (33) probably will remember how to shoot again. Kevin Durant (34) has been playing arguably the best basketball of his career.

But teams with established stars do not have the luxury of waiting too long to avoid wasting a season. Anthony Davis trade rumors already have begun in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the “tanking” Jazz (9-3) are atop the West. What a strange start to the season.