Nets GM Sean Marks stated he has not decided who will change Steve Nash as head coach transferring ahead, however when requested about stories concerning suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka, he danced across the matter.
The Celtics suspended Udoka, who simply took Boston to the NBA Finals final season, for the complete 2022-23 season reportedly on account of a sexual misconduct allegation with a feminine staffer inside the group.
Yet inside minutes of the Nets asserting their resolution to half methods with Nash, vaunted NBA newsbreaker Shams Charania reported the Nets not solely acquired permission to interview Udoka, however that additionally they plan to rent him as their subsequent head coach.
“There’s a reason why we made this move [to fire Nash] when we did because time is ticking,” Marks stated when pressed on the potential Udoka rent hours after the franchise introduced Nash’s dismissal. “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 do with anyone else].”
If the Nets do their due diligence and nonetheless come up at hiring Udoka, it is going to be yet one more indictment on the tradition Marks claimed he wished to revive.
The reporting round Udoka’s suspension has been obscure, with the Celtics solely asserting his infraction as “an unspecified team violation.” Shortly after, the Athletic reported Udoka had “an improper intimate and consensual relationship” with a feminine Celtics staffer. Multiple stories then surfaced suggesting not solely that Udoka had relations with a couple of feminine Celtics staffer, however that he additionally made “unwanted comments” towards one staffer which prompted an organizational investigation.
The incontrovertible fact that the Nets are reportedly keen so as to add Udoka’s sideshow to the dumpster fireplace that has been Kyrie Irving’s antisemitic feedback speaks volumes.
Udoka is clearly a succesful coach and basketball thoughts. After an 18-21 begin to the season, he turned the Celtics into the NBA’s finest protection and completed the 12 months profitable 33 of his remaining 43 video games. His game-by-game changes lapped Nash’s because the Celtics swept the Nets out of the primary spherical of the playoffs. Under most circumstances, he checks the field for the form of coach wanted for a ready-made championship contender.
“I think what you’re looking for is a leader. We’re looking for that for our group,” Marks stated. “We’re looking for somebody to have poise, charisma, [and] accountability. … We’re not playing up to our expectations the way we should be. So you hope this new coach can come in here and put this group in the best possible place to succeed, whether that’s through basketball acumen, whether it’s through their character, whether that’s through their experiences, and all of those together.”
Yet for a staff that after hung its hat on a bulletproof tradition, the calendar 12 months has been a deviation. Irving determined towards getting vaccinated. Kevin Durant requested a commerce then demanded the coach and common supervisor be fired. Irving then, not as soon as, however twice posted hyperlinks to antisemitic materials on his social media feeds. And now the Nets are reportedly planning to rent somebody who’s lower than two months faraway from suspension on account of sexual misconduct.
What’s subsequent in Brooklyn? The Nets should be extra bodily. Maybe the Nets decide up the cellphone and name Miles Bridges, who’s months faraway from home violence fees? They want depth on the level guard behind Irving. Why not give Josh Primo a name? He could be an extension of Udoka on the ground.
Nets proprietor Joe Tsai has two quotes in current historical past that align with how the Nets are working: When the staff introduced Irving again into the rotation after banishing him due to his anti-vaccine stance, Tsai reportedly stated: “My only religion is to win games and to win the championship.”
And when he took to Twitter to publicly condemn Irving’s posting of the antisemitic movie, Tsai tweeted: “This is bigger than basketball.”
If the Nets rent Udoka, it’s clearly about basketball and basketball solely, as a result of in the event that they’ve completed their due diligence, they’ll understand these are the one containers he checks.
And it’s a troublesome tablet for this franchise to swallow, as a result of regardless of proudly owning the NBA’s third-highest payroll and a star-stacked roster, the losses on the courtroom have solely been secondary to the L’s they’ve taken outdoors of basketball.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com