The Nets fired Coach Steve Nash on Tuesday as the team struggled on the court and was under fire for the off-court actions of the star guard Kyrie Irving.
In a statement, Nets General Manager Sean Marks said Nash had faced “a number of unprecedented challenges” since he was hired in September 2020.
“Personally, this was an immensely difficult decision,” Marks said, “however, after much deliberation and evaluation of how the season has begun, we agreed that a change is necessary at this time.”
At 2-5, the Nets are among the worst teams in the N.B.A., despite starting the season with all three of their best players: Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. Over the past week, the team has also been dealing with backlash after Irving promoted an antisemitic documentary on social media. Irving has not apologized, but he deleted a tweet linking to the documentary on Sunday, which Nash had said “certainly helps.”
Nash, 48, was hired before the 2020-21 season, despite never having coached professionally at any level, even as an assistant. The Nets were criticized for hiring Nash, who is white, over experienced Black coaches. Jacque Vaughn, a Nets assistant coach, will be acting head coach Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls. Vaughn, who is Black, was passed over when the Nets hired Nash.
But Nash did carry the pedigree of being one of the best point guards in N.B.A. history, having won two Most Valuable Player Awards during a celebrated career from 1996 to 2014. He initially surrounded himself with experienced coaches such as Vaughn and Mike D’Antoni, who had coached him as a player in Phoenix.
Over a little more than two seasons, Nash led the Nets to a 94-67 record, a winning percentage of .584, but with only one playoff-series victory to show for it. Nash thanked the team Tuesday in a statement on Twitter.
“It was an amazing experience with many challenges that I’m incredibly grateful for,” he said, adding: “I wish the Nets all the success in the world and the Nash’s will be rooting for our team as they turn this season around.”
Nash faced problems from the start, including injuries (Durant; Simmons), trades (Simmons in; James Harden in, then out) and Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, which meant that he missed most of the 2021-22 season because of local rules.
Irving returned in time for the postseason after New York City changed the rules, but the Boston Celtics swept the Nets in the first round of the playoffs, closing out the series in front of thousands of despondent fans in Brooklyn.
“We had high expectations,” Durant said at the time. “Everybody had high expectations for us. But a lot of stuff happened throughout the season that derailed us.”
Durant went to the team’s front office over the summer to request a trade. According to a report by The Athletic, Durant demanded that the Nets owner, Joe Tsai, choose between him or Marks and Nash. Tsai released a statement that said the team’s front-office staff and coaches had his support.
Durant eventually relented and joined the team for training camp in late September. Hope blossomed anew: Durant, Irving and Simmons were expected to help form one of the more explosive starting lineups in the N.B.A.
But the Nets sputtered, particularly on defense, losing five of their first six games this season. The Nets played better in a 116-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night in what turned out to be Nash’s final game.
