Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta at ease with Ime Udoka being coach - ESPN

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta trumpeted the hiring of Ime Udoka as the first step in «phase two» of the franchise's rebuilding process, in which immediately returning to the playoffs after a three-year absence is the plan.

He also attributed his feeling at ease with hiring Udoka to conversations with NBA officials and the head coach following Udoka's suspension and eventual dismissal from the Boston Celtics because of an improper workplace relationship.

«The NBA told me that they felt very comfortable with Ime becoming the coach of the Houston Rockets,» Fertitta said during a Wednesday news conference at the Toyota Center. «So that made me feel really good after a lengthy, lengthy conversation with him.»

Udoka led the Celtics to a 51-31 record and an NBA Finals appearance in his lone season as head coach. He was suspended in September after an independent law firm probe found that he used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate before the start of an improper workplace relationship with her, an element that significantly factored into the severity of his initial suspension, sources told ESPN then. He was dismissed during the season when the Celtics opted to make Joe Mazzulla, who had been promoted on an interim basis, the head coach moving forward.

The Rockets hired Udoka to replace Stephen Silas after Houston finished with the worst record in the Western Conference for three straight seasons in the wake of a teardown and rebuilding plan that began when James Harden requested a trade.

Udoka referenced the apologetic statement he released in September and said he has undergone leadership and sensitivity training as well as counseling with his son during his season away from the NBA. Udoka