Steve Nash is out as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, the team announced Tuesday.
Speaking before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Nets general manager Sean Marks said that both he and Nash felt this was the right time to make a move, and acknowledged that the pair of friends knew this decision was probably going to be made sooner rather than later — especially after Brooklyn struggled to a 2-5 start.
“We both felt this was time,” Marks said. “It was certainly trending in that way and to be quite frank the team was not doing what it was supposed to be doing. We’ve fallen from our goals, of meeting our goals, and it was time now because we still have lofty aspirations of where we need to get to.”
In a statement, Nash thanked Marks and team ownership for an “amazing experience with many challenges that I’m incredibly grateful for.”
What became increasingly apparent since the second half of last season was just how frustrated Nash was with the constant drama surrounding his team off the floor. Last season it was Kyrie Irving‘s decision not to get vaccinated that hung over the organization; this season it was Irving’s social media posts promoting a book and movie with antisemitic ideals.
“[Nash] has certainly not had an even playing field over 2½ years here,” Marks said. “And for that I certainly feel some responsibility because this does not fall on him. I take a great deal of responsibility in creating the roster, hiring staff, bringing people in, whether that’s free agency or (the) draft, what have you.”
Suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka has emerged as the likely next Nets head coach, and his hiring could be finalized as soon as the next 24 to 48 hours, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Celtics would let Udoka leave for another job, sources said.
The hope is that Udoka can tighten the Nets defensively and command the respect of franchise’s key players. Udoka spent a season on Nash’s staff before accepting the Celtics job and winning the Eastern Conference. Udoka’s time in Boston was essentially over after being given a one-year suspension for having an improper workplace relationship with a female subordinate.
Assistant coach Jacque Vaughn will be the acting head coach for Tuesday night’s home game against the Bulls.
A first-time head coach, Nash was hired by the Nets in 2020 to replace Kenny Atkinson a year after Kevin Durant and Irving signed with the team.
While a squad led by a Hall of Fame former player who had previously worked with Durant in Golden State seemed like a recipe for success, the Nets never reached the lofty goals set for the team under Nash.
Brooklyn made the playoffs in each of Nash’s two full seasons, but only won one series. Injuries and mega-trades were constants during Nash’s tenure as the team acquired James Harden in the 2020-21 season and traded him last season in a move that brought in Ben Simmons. Simmons didn’t make his Nets debut until this season, while neither Durant nor Irving have played 60 games in a season since signing in Brooklyn due to injuries and, in Irving’s case, his decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19.
This past offseason, the Nets dealt with trade requests from both Irving and Durant. A viable trade didn’t emerge for Irving. And in an August meeting with owner Joe Tsai in London, sources confirmed to ESPN that Durant asked Tsai to choose between him and the brain trust of Nash and Marks. While both men were retained and Durant eventually relented on his trade demand, Nash’s time in Brooklyn is now over.
In Nash’s first season, the Nets with Harden earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but injuries to Harden and Irving contributed to the team’s seven-game, second-round exit at the hands of the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Entering last season, the Nets were again expected to be one of the East’s best teams, but Harden was sent to Philadelphia and Irving was limited to just 29 regular-season games after choosing to not get vaccinated. Brooklyn was swept in the first round by Boston.