The Nets and coach Steve Nash have agreed to part ways, the two sides announced Tuesday.
Brooklyn was swept in the first round by Boston. In Nash's first season, the Nets with Harden earned the No. And in an August meeting with owner Joe Tsai in London, sources confirmed to ESPN that Durant asked Tsai to choose between him and the brain trust of Nash and Marks. 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 to not get vaccinated against COVID-19. The hope is that Udoka can tighten the Nets defensively and command the respect of franchise's key players. Personally, this was an immensely difficult decision; however, after much deliberation and evaluation of how the season has begun, we agreed that a change is necessary at this time."
The Nets have struggled to a 2-5 start, and their star guard Kyrie Irving is under fire for promoting an antisemitic documentary.
Irving has faced sharp criticism over the past week after promoting an antisemitic documentary on social media. The Nets fired Coach Steve Nash on Tuesday as the team struggled on the court and was under fire for the off-court actions of the star guard Kyrie Irving. The Nets have struggled to a 2-5 start, and their star guard Kyrie Irving is under fire for promoting an antisemitic documentary.
Steve Nash is out as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, who are 2-5 despite having superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
[NBC Sports reported](https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/08/09/report-like-durant-kyrie-irving-also-not-a-fan-of-steve-nash-sean-marks/) that both Durant and Irving were unhappy with the team leadership. [Durant reportedly pushed for Nash's ouster](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/23/kevin-durant-to-stay-with-brooklyn-nets-team-says-after-trade-talks.html?&qsearchterm=brooklyn%20nets) in the offseason as rumors swirled that he may leave the team. [Irving drew criticism from Nets owner Joe Tsai](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/29/brooklyn-nets-condemn-kyrie-irving-for-promotion-of-antisemitic-film.html?&qsearchterm=brooklyn%20nets) over the weekend after he promoted an antisemitic film and book on social media Thursday. "We want to thank Steve for everything he brought to our franchise over the past two-plus seasons," Marks said in a statement. [he added](https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1587508054815571968), citing sources. Jacque Vaughn will take over as interim head coach, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The Brooklyn Nets have attempted to arrest the chaos surrounding the franchise by firing head coach Steve Nash after two seasons in the job.
On Monday night, fans courtside [wore t-shirts](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/31/brooklyn-nets-fight-antisemitism-shirts-kyrie-irving) reading “Fight antisemitism” as Irving played in front of them. [seemingly passed](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/aug/23/kevin-durant-ends-nets-trade-demand-and-agrees-to-move-forward) there was instability elsewhere. Eyebrows were raised when Nash, whose brilliant playing career ended with his enshrinement in the basketball hall of fame, was appointed to lead the Nets, despite never having served as a head coach. Harden struggled with injury and was eventually traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that brought Ben Simmons to Brooklyn, and [the Nets were swept](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/apr/26/brooklyn-nets-loss-boston-celtics-nba-playoffs-kevin-durant-kyrie-irving) in the first-round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. In August, Durant reportedly demanded to be traded unless the Nets fired Nash and Marks. When Nash joined the Nets at the start of the 2020-21 season, they were expected to compete for a championship with the All-Star duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant later joined by former league MVP James Harden.
'They need to tear it apart': Nets told to pull $360m trade trigger as NBA reacts to 'dumpster fire'
Durant, who signed a four-year $303m AUD extension, dropped a bombshell on the Nets in the off-season when he demanded a trade only for the Nets to hold their ground. do you think the the best player would’ve fought against this? “I’m not sure that they are there yet. Wojnarowski added that the Celtics would permit Udoka to leave for a different job. The answer is always no, in fact, many times, they are the agent for change,” he said on The Mismatch podcast. Kyrie, meanwhile, opted in to a $56 million AUD extension in the off-season. “And so as a GM you get to say it’s the coach’s fault once.” “Now with the Nets a two and five and looking like a completely inconsistent outfit there is no path to the championship, there’s no path for them to complete “I would say it was pretty much inevitable once he decided this was direction he wanted the team to go. “But I don’t think just changing the coach is enough to overcome what this team is in right now.” “Sad to see Steve Nash go from the Brooklyn Nets — but he was put in an impossible situation. “This says to me they think Udoka is the guy who can make it work with this mess they currently have, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor told The Mismatch podcast.
Kiwi general manager makes an early season head coaching move at underperforming Nets, firing Hall of Fame point guard.
Beyond the player changes, Nash also had to adapt to changes on his bench. “Do we want to give up on this because it’s been difficult early, or do we want to stay the course and start to build something?” Nash led the Nets to a 92-62 record and the playoffs in both full seasons, his first as an NBA coach. Durant said he wanted to be traded this summer if the Nets didn't fire Marks and Nash, but Tsai stood by them and Durant eventually pulled back his request. Much of that was ignored because the focus was on Irving's combative news conference defending his tweet, and the Nets beat the Pacers in the rematch to end a four-game skid. But things started poorly this season and Nash gave some of his hardest criticism of the team during his tenure after their loss to Indiana on Sunday, calling their defence effort a “disaster” and seeing he didn't see desire or will.
NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Nash is out as Brooklyn Nets coach after a disappointing start and more controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving.
“Do we want to give up on this because it’s been difficult early, or do we want to stay the course and start to build something?” Beyond the player changes, Nash also had to adapt to changes on his bench. The Nets said a decision on the team’s next coach would be made in the near future. Nash led the Nets to a 92-62 record and the playoffs in both full seasons, his first as an NBA coach. Durant said he wanted to be traded this summer if the Nets didn’t fire Marks and Nash, but Tsai stood by them and Durant eventually pulled back his request. 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.
“We want to thank Steve for everything he brought to our franchise over the past two-plus seasons,” said General Manager Sean Marks. “Since becoming head coach, ...
Brooklyn Nets Governor Joe Tsai said, “I’ve gotten to know Steve during his time in Brooklyn, and he is not one to shy away from challenges. My admiration and respect for him grew over time as he brought hard work and positive attitude to our organization every day, even in periods of exceptional storm surrounding the team. “We want to thank Steve for everything he brought to our franchise over the past two-plus seasons,” said General Manager Sean Marks.
The star-loaded Nets have an awful record and parted ways with Coach Steve Nash. But a bigger problem with Kyrie Irving and his antisemitic social media ...
Part of that is the responsibility to gain critical understanding before using the power of your voice. Irving and others did that in 2020, ushering in a new age of empowerment, and athletes felt encouraged to speak up against authority. Instead, he doubled down, sticking to what has now become the script for public cowards, casting himself as a victim of reporters and anyone else who dares to ask about his support of hatred. Irving recently shared to his sizable social media following a link to a film that is a case study in antisemitic tropes and the disgusting narratives that have dogged and harmed Jews for generations. “On the other hand, he’s a role model, one of the most beloved players in the league, let alone in Brooklyn. Fueled by antisemitism from several quarters, acts of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions reached the highest level seen in the nearly 45 years the A.D.L. He is a vice president of the N.B.A. He is not only a regular in the nationally televised sports firmament, he has 22 million followers on Twitter and Instagram. Has Irving expressed any remorse or doubt for any of his posts? Just a few weeks ago, he was sharing an old video of Alex Jones railing against the so-called New World Order. Irving, the Nets point guard, is a basketball star with a megaphone. And Irving’s offensive posts, while no longer online, are clearly overshadowing the Nets, and the league.
The Nets dumped their coach, but the team has never lived up to expectations. And there's no clear path forward now.
And after Durant asked to be traded over the summer, it’s not hard to imagine him asking for that again. But at the end of the day, we all came to work. They struggled on the defensive end, and particularly at the end, when they allowed Bulls guard Zach LaVine to outscore the Nets by himself (20 points to 19) in the final period. While Durant said he was “shocked” to wake up from a nap and find out Nash had been fired, he did not seem surprised by the move. Vaughn will serve as the interim coach until the Nets find a permanent leader; he said he did not know how long that would take. But the Vaughn-directed Nets looked like the same team they had been all season. So regardless of who the coach is, regardless of the circumstances, still got to come to work.” Marks’s problem, the Nets’ problem, is there is no real proof that this team or that any of the other teams assembled during Irving and Durant’s tenure was built to win a championship. The Nets trotted out a revamped roster that also included Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, who were returning from injuries, and the new addition Royce O’Neale, but they struggled out of the gate. Ever since the All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant joined the team in the summer of 2019, the Nets had been supremely talented on paper, with hopes of multiple N.B.A. On Tuesday, the Nets [announced that their coach, Steve Nash](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/sports/basketball/steve-nash-fired-nets.html), was out. But that may take longer than he likes: An hour or so after he finished his news conference, the Nets took the court and lost again, falling to the Chicago Bulls, 108-99.
The NBA world was absolutely shocked when the Brooklyn Nets fired Steve Nash after the team defeated the Indiana Pacers. Many believe he didn't really have ...
There wasn't a coach in the NBA that had to deal with a more toxic situation over the last two years than Steve Nash did. It speaks volumes to have a coach as accomplished as Steve Kerr to praise Nash in the way that he did. Many believe he didn't really have a fair shot in such a tumultuous situation like the Nets, including Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.