Steve Nash’s tenure with the Brooklyn Nets ended Tuesday morning, as the two sides reportedly parted ways.
Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, had coached Brooklyn since 2020. His tumultuous ride with the team only got increasingly topsy-turvy this season, as the Nets have started 2-5 and are embroiled in more drama.
This season, point guard Kyrie Irving promoted an anti-Semitic movie on Twitter, then hasn’t answered questions about it. He defended sharing a conspiracy theory from Alex Jones. Nets owner Joe Tsai, the NBA and NBA Players Association released statements condemning hate speech in the wake of Irving’s behavior.
Last year, Irving refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, sidelining him for most of the season.
James Harden requested a trade out of Brooklyn last year as the team struggled. He was eventually traded for Ben Simmons — who didn’t play in 2021 because of back surgery and has struggled to find his footing so far this year.
This offseason, Kevin Durant reportedly requested a trade. When Brooklyn couldn’t find a suitable deal, he reportedly issued an ultimatum to ownership: either trade me or move on from Nash and general manager Sean Marks.
No trade materialized and the Nets ended up bringing Marks, Nash, Durant, Irving and Simmons back into the fold.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr addressed Nash’s ousting before Golden State’s Tuesday game in Miami, expressing support for his peer.
“Steve Nash is a good friend of mine,” Kerr said. “So more than anything, you know, I feel for Steve. I think he has all the qualities to be a brilliant coach. Brilliant. But it was a good reminder to me and I think to all coaches that we are all at the whim of players, front offices, ownership. You really need a solid situation to thrive as a coach in this league.”
Kerr, a head coach since 2014, has worked for a franchise with rare stability built around superstar Stephen Curry. There, of course, has been internal strife to handle, but Kerr knows as well as anyone how important an organization’s foundation can be to longevity. He correctly chose the Warriors job over his former coach Phil Jackson and the Knicks.
Brooklyn lacked the same stability as the Warriors or their Tuesday opponent. The turmoil made it an impossible task for Nash.
“Erik (Spoelstra)’s got one here, I’ve got one in Golden State — we’re really lucky,” Kerr said. “Throw either one of us in that situation and we wouldn’t have done any better than Steve. And that’s the truth. As a really good friend of mine, I feel bad for Steve. But I also know that if he ever wants to get back in this thing he could be great. He just needs a more stable environment.”
Brooklyn is reportedly expected to hire the suspended Ime Udoka, only adding to the chaos. The Celtics, just months after falling to the Warriors in the NBA Finals, suspended Udoka for an improper relationship with a subordinate.