Best Fits for Nets' Next HC After Steve Nash's Exit After 2-Plus Seasons

After an offseason of uncertainty about Steve Nash's job status, the Brooklyn Nets parted ways with their head coach and appear to be targeting Ime Udoka as his replacement.

He leaves the organization after just seven games in 2022-23, per an announcement from the team.

Nash posted a statement on Twitter about the decision:

This move wasn't completely unexpected after Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported in August that Kevin Durant told Nets governor Joe Tsai to either fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trade him.

As for what's next, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Udoka is likely going to be named permanent head coach, with a formal announcement potentially coming within the next 24 to 48 hours. Jacque Vaughn will serve as interim head coach for Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

The Boston Celtics, who have Udoka under contract, will let him leave for another job, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski previously reported the Nets would inquire about Udoka and Quin Snyder, among others, about becoming their full-time head coach.

Udoka's situation is the most complicated among the potential targets for Brooklyn. The 45-year-old had a fantastic first season as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2021-22. He led them to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and an appearance in the NBA Finals.

On Sept. 22, the Celtics announced Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022-23 campaign for violations of team policies. The team said a decision about his future beyond this season would be made at a later date.

Per Wojnarowski, an independent law firm hired by the Celtics to investigate the situation found Udoka "used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman."

Per Charania, the woman accused Udoka of making "unwanted comments toward her," which prompted the Celtics to launch a set of internal interviews.

The Athletic's Jay King noted Udoka's history with the Nets and ability to coach top stars could make him a fit for them if they are "willing to overlook the serious mess that led to his suspension in Boston."

Snyder resigned as head coach of the Utah Jazz in June after eight seasons. He walked away with 372 wins, six consecutive playoff appearances and 51 postseason victories. All three of those marks rank second in franchise history, behind Jerry Sloan.

If the Nets are looking to hire a coach who can bring some stability to a franchise in desperate need of it without all the negative headlines that would come with Udoka, Snyder would be a good choice. He took over a Jazz team in 2014 still mired in a rebuild, helped develop Rudy Gobert into an All-Star center and guided Donovan Mitchell after the team drafted him with the No. 13 pick in 2017.

Udoka is certainly an impressive head coach based on how he was able to adjust midway through his first season with the Celtics. They were 23-24 after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 21 before winning 28 of their final 35 games in the regular season.

There is going to be a level of scrutiny and attention on Udoka if he is the choice because of his suspension and the many details about it that remain unknown.

Even though it doesn't sound like he will be given the chance to prove he can handle the job, Vaughn has the credentials to at least be worth consideration. The 47-year-old has three years of experience as a head coach with the Orlando Magic from 2012-13 to 2014-15. He went 58-158 before being fired in February 2015.

Vaughn has been on Brooklyn's coaching staff since the 2016-17 season when he was hired as Kenny Atkinson's lead assistant. He served as interim head coach for 10 games during the 2019-20 season after Atkinson was fired in March 2020.

The Nets formally interviewed Vaughn for the job in September 2020 before Nash was hired. He knows this roster well and has established relationships with all of the players that could serve him well.

Whoever is hired by the Nets will have to address the recent actions of star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving, a seven-time All-Star, has faced no consequences from the team or NBA after tweeting out a link to a documentary called Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.

Per Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone, the movie is "stuffed with antisemitic tropes." Irving has since deleted the tweet, but he got defensive about the situation during a postgame press conference after Saturday's loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Tsai and the NBA released separate statements on Twitter condemning hate speech, but Irving was in the Nets' starting lineup and played 43 minutes in Monday's victory over the Pacers.

Nash went 94-67 in two-plus seasons as Brooklyn's head coach. He made the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons but only managed one postseason series victory during that span.