The hits keep coming with the Nets, this time with their expected new head coach.
Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting Brooklyn will hire former assistant — and currently suspended Celtics head coach — Ime Udoka. Steve Nash was fired earlier Tuesday following the Nets’ 2-5 start.
Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last year and is currently serving a one-year team-issued ban for having an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. He did not resign, but the Celtics made it clear he probably wouldn’t be back. He’s now about to become the Nets’ problem.
This has been the Nets’ same ongoing story since moving to Brooklyn in 2012. It’s an endless march of mistakes that rivals the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kyrie Irving’s cluelessly promoting an antisemitic documentary was a big enough problem, and now owner Joe Tsai has to worry about Udoka’s baggage.
There’s simply no way for this to end well for the Nets or anyone involved. Irving’s contract is up at the end of the year and that will keep Tsai and general manager Sean Marks from doing anything/growing a spine. They’ll just ride it out, not re-sign him, and forget this ever happened.
Except that isn’t an option now. The Nets’ issues go far beyond the court. The inmates are clearly running the asylum with Kevin Durant demanding a trade and then subsequently trying to have Nash fired over the summer. The same Durant who, along with Irving, had an actual coach in Kenny Atkinson fired and insisted on Nash succeeding him.
Enough is enough. The Nets are such a laughingstock that even the Knicks feel sorry for them. What’s next? Trading for Russell Westbrook and hoping he suddenly stops taking bad shots?
Whatever happens, nothing’s changing in Brooklyn. Irving will stay with the Nets and they will defend him with endless canned statements.
And as for Udoka? Well, let’s just hope the statements about him are slightly less canned.