BROOKLYN, New York – After a poor start and additional controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving, Steve Nash has been fired as the Brooklyn Nets’ coach. 

A day after defeating Indiana to move up to 2-5, the Nets revealed on Tuesday that they had parted ways with the Hall of Fame point guard. 

Nash made it to this season despite Kevin Durant saying he should leave this summer. With poor play on the court and negative headlines off it, the Nets have been yet another mess. 

The biggest was produced by Irving, who drew ire from Nets owner Joe Tsai last week when he shared a link to an antisemitic piece on his Twitter page.

In a statement, general manager Sean Marks stated, “Since taking over as head coach, Steve has been presented with a lot of unusual obstacles. We are really appreciative his leadership, tolerance, and humility throughout his stay.” 

We decided that a change is required at this time after considerable consideration and an examination of how the season has started, even though it was a very tough decision for us personally to make.

The Nets might replace Nash right now. Ime Udoka, a former Brooklyn assistant coach who is not with the Celtics this season after being found to have broken team rules by having a connection with a female employee, was reportedly being courted by the Nets, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The individual talked to The Associated Press under the condition of anonymity because the conversations were private.

The Nets announced that a choice would be made soon regarding the team’s next coach. 

In each of the Nets’ full seasons under Nash’s direction, they finished with a 92-62 record and made the playoffs. However, they suffered injuries during their second-round loss to Milwaukee in 2021, lost James Harden and Kyrie Irving, and after moving Harden in the middle of the previous season, finished last season with a first-round flop.

Irving’s inability to attend the majority of their home games during the later season was mostly the result of his refusal to receive the coronavirus vaccination, which was required at the time in New York City. 

Although Nash managed everything as well as he could, it was apparently insufficient for his finest player. If the Nets didn’t remove Marks and Nash this summer, Durant stated he would like to be traded, but Tsai remained by them, and Durant eventually withdrew his demand. 

But after their defeat to Indiana on Saturday night, Nash called the club’s defensive effort a “disaster” and said he didn’t see passion or will. Nash’s harshest critique of the squad during his tenure. 

Nash stated, “We have to look very, very deeply inside ourselves and what we want to do, what we want to achieve. Do we want to abandon our endeavor because the going has been rough now, or do we want to press on and begin to create something? ” 

However, Nash’s employment ended the next day, just hours before Brooklyn was scheduled to host Chicago. Against the Bulls, Jacque Vaughn will lead the team in an interim capacity. 

In his statement praising Nash, Tsai made reference to the ongoing volatility around the team. 

Over time, as he consistently put in effort and maintained a positive outlook for our business, Tsai stated, “my regard and esteem for him rose, especially in times of extreme storm surrounding the team.” 

While Nash was a two-time MVP with the Phoenix Suns and finished his 18-year career third on the NBA’s list of all-time assist leaders, Marks chose his former teammate to be the coach in 2020 despite having no prior coaching experience. Marks cited Nash’s ability to connect people as a player as the reason for his selection.

Nash had to adjust to changes on his bench in addition to player adjustments. Ime Udoka left to take over as coach of the Boston Celtics after one season after Mike D’Antoni, the two-time NBA Coach of the Year, resigned as his assistant. 

The Nets announced that a choice would be made soon regarding the team’s next coach.