The Nets and Steve Nash mutually agreed to part ways just seven games into the 2022–23 season on Tuesday afternoon, leaving a high-profile coaching vacancy in Brooklyn. Though the franchise announced that longtime assistant Jacque Vaughn will serve as the acting head coach against the Bulls on Tuesday night, the Nets are exploring other options, including suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Shortly after Nash’s firing Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported that Brooklyn is in advanced discussions with Udoka to take over as the Nets head coach. Mannix reports that Brooklyn has quietly done “due diligence” on the circumstances that led to Udoka’s yearlong team suspension in Boston and that the Celtics are willing to let the second-year head coach leave for another job.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports Udoka is a “strong front-runner” for the Nets job, and that the two sides have “begun discussions.”
