After initially planning to hire Ime Udoka for their head coaching position, the Brooklyn Nets reversed course Wednesday and promoted assistant coach Jacque Vaughan on an interim basis.
According to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, strong voices urged Nets governor Joe Tsai not to hire Udoka due to “considerable turmoil Brooklyn has already faced this season.”
Much of that turmoil has to do with point guard Kyrie Irving, who was suspended indefinitely after tweeting a link to an antisemitic movie and initially refusing to apologize for it.
Irving has since apologized on social media and the team has outlined several steps Irving must take before returning to action.