Steve Nash out as Nets coach after poor start, more controversy
NEW YORK – The Brooklyn Nets refused to fire Steve Nash over the summer, no matter what Kevin Durant wanted.
But with the Nets off to a disappointing start amid more controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving, the team and coach both decided the change needed to happen now.
“We both felt this was time,” general manager Sean Marks said.
So the Nets parted ways with the Hall of Fame point guard Tuesday, hours before losing to Chicago to drop to 2-6.
Nash made it to this season after Durant said he wanted him out this summer, but not much longer. The Nets have been another mess, with bad play on the court and bad headlines off it.
The biggest – again – was created by Irving, who posted a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter page last week, drawing criticism from Nets owner Joe Tsai.
Marks said he and Nash had been talking for a week, perhaps more, before arriving at the decision that it was time for change.
“It was certainly trending that way and to be quite frank the team was not doing what it was supposed to be doing,” Marks said. “We’ve fallen from our goals and of meeting our goals and it was time now because we still have lofty aspirations of where we need get to.”
Marks said players were not consulted, but Durant said there wouldn’t have been any need because everyone knew the situation the Nets were in.
“Let’s be real. We’re pros, we’re veterans,” Durant said. “We had a tough start. It was a rocky year last year, rocky summer. We knew that everybody was being evaluated. That’s just how it is in the league.”
The Nets may move quickly to replace Nash. A person with knowledge of the matter said the Nets were in discussions with suspended Boston coach Ime Udoka – a former Brooklyn assistant who is not with the Celtics this season because he was found to have violated team rules by having a relationship with a female staffer within the organization. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because those talks were not revealed publicly.
ESPN first reported the talks between Udoka and the Nets. The Nets said a decision on the team’s next coach would be made in the near future.