Getty Steve Nash and Sean Marks during Nets Media Day,
After a 2-5 start to a season in which they hoped to be title contenders, a major shakeup seemed imminent for the Brooklyn Nets. It was just a matter of what that shakeup would be. Nets fans got their answer on November 1 when the bombshell news came that head coach Steve Nash and the organization mutually agreed to part ways.
Nash boasted a record of 94-67 in his three seasons as head coach of the franchise but failed to duplicate that same success in the playoffs. Brooklyn never made it past the second round of the playoffs in his tenure.
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Sean Marks Refutes Report of Udoka Hiring
It didn’t take long for the Nets to have a frontrunner to replace Nash as head coach. Less than two hours after Brooklyn announced his departure, NBA insider Shams Charania of “The Athletic” reported that the Nets were planning to hire suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka as the next leader of the franchise.
Later in evening, Nets general manager Sean Marks addressed the media in response to Nash’s dismissal and refuted the reports of their plans to hire Udoka (H/T Bleacher Report).
“No, absolutely not,” Marks said of the reports that the Nets planned to hire the Celtics coach amid his year-long suspension.
Nets GM Sean Marks says he has “absolutely not” settled on a replacement for Steve Nash
Marks: Nets Will Do ‘Due Diligence’ in Hiring New Coach
The Nets head coaching vacancy opens up one of the most attractive opportunities in the NBA. The chance to coach the All-Star trio of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons and possibly compete for a title this season.
The Nets will look for the cream of the crop to take over the reins and steer the team in the right direction. Other than Udoka, some other names that come to mind are former Utah Jazz head coach Quinn Snyder, Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel, and former Golden State Warriors coach and New York City native Mark Jackson, who was one of the finalists for the Sacramento Kings job this past summer.
Brooklyn will have a line of applicants salivating at the chance to fill their attractive vacancy, but Marks is refusing to give a list of candidates for the opening at this time. He also says there is no timeline for when he expects to officially name Nash’s replacement.
“Yeah, look, I really don’t think it’s up to me right now to give you give a list of candidates who we’re talking to, and then we’re going to arise and we’re going to fall on this, but I would say I will reserve that for when those decisions are made,” Marks said to reporters via Sports Illustrated.
“I couldn’t give you a timeline on that. 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 we’ll do our due diligence like we would with anybody.
When I was hired when everybody was hired here, yeah, the organization does very, very thorough due diligence on anybody, and you, you arrive at the best possible outcome.”
After losing to the Chicago Bulls, the Nets have a record of 2-6 on the season. The sooner they name a head coach, the sooner they can right the ship.