The Brooklyn Nets fired their head coach, Steve Nash, Tuesday afternoon. The former NBA MVP took the high road, releasing a statement after the firing. The news comes amid a poor start to the season and turmoil between Nash and some of the players. Now that the Nets have begun to move forward, the question remains who will be the next head coach.
The biggest and most obvious name floating out there is Ime Udoka. The Boston Celtics suspended their rising star coach last month amid off-the-court issues involving alleged relationships with female co-workers.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith didn't hold back with his opinion on Nash's replacement.
“Sad to see Steve Nash go from BrooklynNets— but he was put in an impossible situation. Now…..they need to go get Ime Udoka asap. Like right now!!!!! Since the Celtics don’t want him coaching their team. Udoka or Mark Jackson. Then the nonsense will end!”
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix also detailed how the Nets had done their due diligence on Udoka, knowing Steve Nash very well might have met his fate.
But as Keith Smith pointed out, it's not going to be as easy as that.
“Ime Udoka is under contract to the Boston Celtics. He's suspended for the season. He hasn't been fired or let go by Boston. Brooklyn would not be able to hire him without the Celtics giving them permission,” Smith tweeted.
However, Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn pointed out how the Celtics might be willing to trade Udoka. Trading a head coach was something no one ever really thought of until Doc Rivers was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The only question here is whether Boston would be willing to trade him inside the division.