Steve Nash had been fired as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets 7 games into the 2022-23 NBA season. Over the offseason, Nash expressed excitement over wanting to return as the bench boss after getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
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However, Kevin Durant clearly was a few steps ahead of the former Suns superstar as he demanded Nash be fired for him to rescind his trade request. This of course, did not take place and Joe Tsai even tweeted out in support of Sean Marks and Nash.
Fast-forward to a 2-5 start to the 2023 campaign and the Nets have seen enough. In a statement released by both the organization and Steve himself, the two have decided to part ways. This leaves Jacque Vaughn as the interim head coach of the Nets, a position he’s held before in 2020 when the team was making the transition from Kenny Atkinson to Steve Nash.
Ime Udoka is a top candidate for the coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets.
Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022-23 NBA season after taking the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year after having a workplace relationship with a female Celtics staffer. Him having this relationship with Kathleen Nimmo Lynch, a close friend of Danny Ainge’s, is what led to the suspension.
Boston has made it clear that Udoka could pursue any coaching job with anybody else in the league if he chooses to. The Nets, with Steve Nash having been fired, are a prime target for the former first year head coach.
What makes this even more interesting is that Ime was a part of the Nets organization during the 2020-21 NBA season. This was the same season they were a Kevin Durant 3-pointer away from making the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ime was an assistant coach to Nash during that season and so it’s clear that he has connections to Joe Tsai and the rest of the front office. However, only time will tell if the Celtics will be willing to let Ime go to a team that could be a direct competitor to them in the Eastern Conference.
Kyrie Irving praised Ime Udoka after a Game 1 loss to the Celtics in the first round last season.
After the Jayson Tatum game-winning layup in Game 1 last season against the Nets, Kyrie Irving took to his post-game media availability to give props to Ime Udoka. He claimed Udoka had the keys to the treasure chest that was the Nets offense, given that he witnessed its inner workings a season prior.
With Udoka having had a relationship with the likes of Kyrie, KD, Joe Harris, Claxton, and the rest prior, it should make sense to look to target him. Also, the fact that his offense took a team to the NBA Finals should also be a key component in this decision.
