Steve Nash is out as Brooklyn Nets head coach after a disappointing start and more controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving. The Nets announced Tuesday they had parted ways with the Hall of Fame point guard, a day after they beat Indiana to improve to 2-5.
Nash, who hails from Victoria, made it to this season after Kevin Durant said he wanted him out this summer, but not much longer.
The Nets have been another mess, with bad play on the court and bad headlines off it. The biggest, again, was created by Irving, who posted a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter page last week, drawing criticism from Nets owner Joe Tsai. "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," general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. "Personally, this was an immensely difficult decision; however, after much deliberation and evaluation of how the season has begun, we agreed that a change is necessary at this time." Nash led the Nets to a 92-62 record and the playoffs in both full seasons, his first as an NBA head coach.
But they lost Irving and James Harden to injuries during their second-round loss to Milwaukee in 2021, then were a first-round flop last season after trading Harden during the middle of the season. <a href="https://t.co/GUGhBtHKUL">pic.twitter.com/GUGhBtHKUL</a> Most of their problems during the latter season were caused by Irving being unavailable for most of their home games because he refused to get vaccinated for the coronavirus, as mandated at the time in New York City.