Ime Udoka was reported to be the Nets’ next head coach mere hours after the team parted ways with Steve Nash this month. On Wednesday, however, the team changed course, and announced that interim coach Jacque Vaughn would take over the role on a full-time basis.
The explosive Kyrie Irving press conferences that eventually led to his suspension seemed to delay the Nets’ decision, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the organization’s investigation into Udoka’s suspension from the Boston Celtics took “longer than initially expected.” Udoka was suspended for the entirety of the 2022-23 season by the Celtics for a violation of team policies in connection to an improper relationship with a female member of the Celtics’ organization.
The details of what happened with Udoka in Boston are scant, but according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the Nets should have hired Udoka anyway.
“Whatever we’re hoping Jacque Vaughn achieves, we know Ime Udoka can achieve it because he already has. In his first year in Boston, he achieved what Brad Stevens could not achieve in eight years as head coach of the Boston Celtics, and that was taking them to the NBA Finals.
…. I understand this notion that because of all the drama that has been taking place in Brooklyn, and because of the self-inflicted drama that Ime Udoka is enduring as we speak, that it just seemed to be too much controversy.
…. If I was the ownership group for the Brooklyn Nets, I would have hired Ime Udoka anyway because you don’t see coaches like him come around every day. He’s a foundational kind of coach to build your franchise around in terms of his coaching ability.”
Smith went on to argue that if it were not for Kyrie Irving’s situation, the Nets likely would have hired Udoka.
“It’s clear that of all the things that Kyrie has done since he has been in Brooklyn, every single year finding a reason to get time off. Kyrie Irving cost Ime Udoka this head coaching job in Brooklyn. If it were not for the latest shenanigans involving Kyrie Irving, Ime Udoka would be the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets today.”
[mm-video type=video id=01gh253vy2910gma7g8s playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gh253vy2910gma7g8s/01gh253vy2910gma7g8s-33f35a3cea77747f8e30878f3d7e1fd6.jpg]
[listicle id=48076]