The decision to part ways was mutual between the Nets and Nash, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “We want to thank Steve for everything he’s brought to our franchise over the past two-plus seasons,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement Tuesday. “Since becoming head coach, Steve has faced a number of unprecedented challenges and we are truly grateful for his leadership, patience and humility during his tenure. Personally, this has been an extremely difficult decision. However, after a lot of thought and evaluation of the way the season has started, we agreed that a change is necessary at this time.” In a separate statement, Nash thanked Marks and the team’s ownership for an “amazing experience with many challenges for which I am incredibly grateful.”
Assistant coach Zach Vaughn will be the backup coach for Tuesday night’s home game against the Chicago Bulls, but expect the Nets to ask fired Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka and former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder. among other things, sources told Wojnarowski. Boston would let Udoka, a former Nets assistant, leave for another job, sources said. The move comes after a disappointing 2-5 start for Brooklyn. As a head coach, Nash was hired by the Nets in 2020 to replace Kenny Atkinson a year after Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed with the team. While a team led by a former Hall of Famer who had previously worked with Durant in Golden State seemed like a recipe for success, the Nets never achieved the lofty goals they set for the team under Nash. Brooklyn reached the playoffs in each of Nash’s two full seasons, but only won one series. Injuries and mega-trades have been a constant 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 not to get vaccinated against of COVID-19. This past offseason, the Nets faced trade requests from both Irving and Durant. No viable trade for Irving occurred. And in an August meeting with owner Joe Tsai in London, sources confirmed to ESPN that Durant asked Tsai to choose between him and brain trust Nash and Marks. While both men were retained and Durant ultimately caved to his trade demand, Nash’s time in Brooklyn is now over. In Nash’s first season, Harden’s Nets 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 once again expected to be one of the best teams in the East, but Harden was shipped to Philadelphia and Irving limited him to just 29 regular-season games after opting not to get vaccinated. Brooklyn was swept in the first round by Boston.
