Last week, the Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Steve Nash. In the ensuing hours, reports from both The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicated Brooklyn was close to hiring suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. The Celtics suspended Udoka for the entire 2022-23 season currently because of an improper workplace relationship, which included making unwanted comments toward a female subordinate.
While the details of that hiring were being fine-tuned, Jacque Vaughn was serving as the Nets’ interim head coach. According to a report from Marc Stein, “strong voices” were urging Nets owner Joe Tsai not to hire Udoka.