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Steve Nash is out as head coach of the Nets.
Steve Nash is out as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets after a 2-5 start. The Nets won in Nash’s last game on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers. He is leaving the team just hours before they play the Chicago Bulls at home.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Nash has been fired, while Shams Charania of The Athletic the two sides have agreed to part ways. Either way, Nash’s tumultuous tenure as Nets head coach is over.
Jacque Vaughn will be Brooklyn’s acting head coach against the Bulls on Tuesday night, according to Charania. The Nets are reportedly set to hire suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka to replace Nash. Woj reports the Celtics will let Udoka leave for another job while he’s on suspension for his sex scandal within the Boston organization.
The Nets went 94-67 with Nash as head coach across a little more than two seasons. Expectations were much, much higher. Brooklyn won only one playoff series with Nash as head coach, advancing past the first round in the 2021 NBA Playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks. The next year, the Nets entered the 2021-2022 season as the favorites to win the championship, but didn’t even win a single playoff game before getting swept out of the first round by the Boston Celtics.
Kevin Durant reportedly asked for Nash to be fired during his offseason trade demand this past summer.
Nash put out the following statement after the news that he was out in Brooklyn came out.
Steve Nash’s head coaching tenure in Brooklyn was filled with controversies he couldn’t control
Nash was hired to be Brooklyn’s head coach on Sept. 30, 2020. He replaced Kenny Atkinson, who coached Irving and Durant during their first year with the organization while KD was sidelined recovering from a torn Achilles. Nash had never had a head coaching job before.
Expectations for Nash and the Nets were always high, but they changed dramatically when the team traded for James Harden on Jan. 14, 2021. The Nets shipped out Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, three first round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026), and four first round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027) to Houston in the deal. Brooklyn had a historically talented ‘big three’ of Durant, Harden, and Irving, but they team never came close to live up to the hype.
The rest of the 2021 season was defined by injuries for the Nets. The team won its first round series against the Celtics, then lost a hard-fought 7-game series to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. Both Harden and Irving were injured during the series, with Harden returning to play toward the end of the series. Durant was incredible in defeat, but his toe was on the line for a potential game-winning three-pointer in Game 7, and the Nets would lose in overtime.
The Nets were a massive favorite to win the championship the next year. Then Kyrie Irving sat out games because he refused to get the Covid vaccine mandated by New York City, James Harden grew frustrated with Irving’s absence and demanded a trade, and the Nets were eventually swept by Boston. In the offseason, the team refused to give Irving a long-term contract, and Durant demanded a trade.
KD eventually withdrew his trade demand, and Irving returned on a one-year deal. The team also had to integrate Ben Simmons, acquired in the Harden deal, after the former 76ers star missed all of last season with a holdout and back injury. Nash had so much to deal with in Brooklyn, and he was never able to get the Nets to live up to their potential.
The Nets will now pick up their season once Udoka is announced as head coach. Nash never had a chance in Brooklyn. We’ll see if Udoka will get a better hand.
