The Steve Nash era is officially over in Brooklyn.
Even after the Nets’ tumultuous 2021-22 season ended fittingly with a postseason sweep against the Boston Celtics, the team’s brass decided to run it back with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nash. But through the first seven games of the NBA season, the Nets sit at 2-5, and the distractions brought on away from the court have persisted.
On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Nets and Nash have mutually decided to part ways. Jacque Vaughn will take over as acting head coach for now, but the team is expected to inquire about Ime Udoka, Quin Snyder and others.
“Since becoming head coach, Steve was faced with a number of unprecedented challenges, and we are sincerely grateful for his leadership, patience and humility throughout his tenure,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.
Nets NBA Championship Odds After Firing Steve Nash
Per DraftKings, the Nets came into the season at +700 to win the championship, but after their rough start led to Nash’s firing, they now sit at +850.
Check out the full championship odds below:
The latest issue Nash was forced to deal with came when Irving re-tweeted an old movie with anti-Semitic tropes involved. In response, members of the Jewish community were sitting courtside to protest Irving during the Nets’ win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
“I just hope that we all go through this together,” Nash said prior to Monday’s 116-109 win via ESPN. “There’s always an opportunity for us to grow and understand new perspectives. I think the organization is trying to take that stance where we can communicate through this. And try to all come out in a better position and both more understanding and more empathy for every side of this debate and situation.”
There were plenty of rumors that a large part of Durant’s offseason trade request stemmed from his wish that Nash would be let go as his head coach. Now, the Nets’ disgruntled core will get the opportunity to play for someone with a different mindset than Nash, but it’s hard to imagine it’ll unlock something we haven’t seen over the past 1.5 years.
At the end of the day, Nash is likely relieved to not have to deal with all the drama in Brooklyn anymore, and that burden will be transferred to another coach.
