After a chaotic offseason, the Brooklyn Nets continue to be the center of attention as they make one questionable move after another.
Most recently, after a 2-5 start, the Brooklyn Nets made one of their biggest moves yet, and one that many saw coming before the season even began: the firing of head coach Steve Nash.
In an announcement by Adrian Wojnarowski this week, he revealed that the Nets were parting ways with the NBA legend and that former Celtics coach Ime Udoka was set to replace him in the locker room.
NBA Insider Reveals The Timeline Of The Nets’ Coaching Change
Initially, fans assumed the Nets spoke to Ime after parting with Nash, but a new report by Shams Charania tells a different tale.
“They have been vetting Ime Udoka for the last 24 to 48 hours,” said Shams Charania. “This goes back to the weekend: Sunday into Monday. They started discussions with Ime Udoka, I’m told, even before the firing of Nash. As far as the concept of hiring Ime Udoka.”
“That is a process that is underway. There’s obviously different steps they have to take. Ime Udoka is under a one-year suspension with the Celtics because of an improper workplace relationship they need to vet out.
“They need to have conversations with the Celtics to get Ime Udoka aboard. I’m told the Celtics have already granted permission to the Nets to speak with Udoka, and they will let him go freely. They will let him go without any compensation.”
according to @ShamsCharania the #Celtics "will let him go without any compensation…"
Shams says on #RunItBack Ime Udoka is still slated to be the #Nets next head coach and Brooklyn started discussions with Udoka before Steve Nash was fired
WATCH ⬇️https://t.co/Q9hUtUoPZJ pic.twitter.com/cVeKDZv62m
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) November 2, 2022
The Nets are already being roasted for the way they’ve handled things since Durant arrived a few years ago, and this is yet another example of a questionable tactic by Brooklyn.
While Nash has been nothing but positive about his time in Brooklyn, nobody would blame him for speaking out against his former team. After showing so much loyalty to Nash, and standing by him in the summer when KD asked for his job, it’s not a great look to turn around and fire him less than 10 games into the season.
Whatever Udoka said in that meeting must have really impressed the Nets, because this process is moving way faster than most coaching searches do. Then again, with how much the Nets have struggled to start the season, they really can’t afford to be without an experienced and well-respected coach.
While not everyone is a fan of the way the Celtics have abandoned Udoka, they aren’t asking for any compensation back, which makes him a pretty easy hire for the Nets, even despite his misconduct in Boston.
In the end, it seems like Steve Nash was doomed from the start. To bring a coach without any experience into such a volatile and fragile situation was never going to work out well for the Nets.
Hopefully, Udoka (if that’s who they go with) helps change things for the better.
