sport news Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai 'is being strongly urged NOT to hire Ime Udoka' trends now
The Brooklyn Nets owner is reportedly being urged not to replace Steve Nash with suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.
The Nets parted ways with coach Nash amid a brutal 2-5 start, and banned coach Udoka has emerged as the favorite to replace the two-time MVP. Celtics guard Marcus Smart expressed disappointment Wednesday that Udoka looked set to join the Nets.
But team owner Joseph Tsai is being strongly encouraged to consider someone else for the post, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein.
The Brooklyn Nets owner is reportedly being urged not to replace Steve Nash (left) with suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka (right)
Nets owner Joseph Tsai (center) has got a big decision to make after getting rid of Nash
The Nets are in the spotlight amid the Kyrie Irving saga and following a tumultuous offseason involving Irving and Kevin Durant and the report claims that intense scrutiny is a factor.
Since news of Nash's firing first surfaced Tuesday, both ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania have reported that Udoka is expected to be the next head coach in Brooklyn.
In September, Udoka received a year-long ban from the Celtics after allegations of an improper affair with a female club employee surfaced. Boston would be willing to let Udoka leave, even though he remains under contract, Wojnarowski reports. Udoka actually served as an assistant coach under Nash during the 2020-21 campaign.
Multiple outlets reported about Udoka's affair in September, with ESPN adding that an independent investigation revealed that the first-year head coach 'used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship.'
According to Wojnarowski, the Nets have been probing the circumstances around Udoka's ban, hoping that he can help improve the league's 29th-ranked defensive team. Udoka has not only worked with Nets stars Durant and Irving, but also spent time as an assistant in Philadelphia, where he coached current Nets forward Ben Simmons.
Udoka's Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of last season's playoffs
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, general manager Sean Marks said that the players, including Irving and Durant, did not have any say in Nash's dismissal. He went on to deny reports that he has already settled on Udoka as a replacement.
'I would say I will reserve that for when those decisions are made and I couldn't give you a timeline on that,' Marks said. 'Obviously there's a reason why we made this move when we did, because time is ticking. So we do want this process to be a thorough one, we're not going to skip steps on that and then we'll do our due diligence like in any way.'
Former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder was also named by Wojnarowski as a potential replacement.
Nash, 48, finished his first head-coaching tenure with a 92-62 record and two playoff appearances.
Udoka's alleged affair became tabloid fodder, since his longtime fiance and mother of his son is actress Nia Long, of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame.
Long reportedly had moved to Boston in
