It looks like the Brooklyn Nets have decided against hiring fired Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka after announcing on Nov. 9 that they’ve made interim head coach Jacque Vaughn the team’s permanent leader.
The Brooklyn Nets have named Jacque Vaughn as head coach. pic.twitter.com/sgQZ4OtFNA
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 9, 2022
News Onyx has previously reported that a deal between the Nets and Udoka was in the works to where the former Celtics head coach would be hired to replace their former coach Steve Nash. And, according to NBA insider Shams Charania, sources said the Celtics had no problem with their rivals considering Udoka, one of the best coaches in the season.
But this wasn’t the first time the Nets wanted Udoka. In 2020 and 2016, the team considered him a contender for the head coach position. So, why didn’t they hire their popular choice? The Nets never stated why they decided on Vaughn and not Udoka but sports reporter Marc Stein tweeted that “league sources” said “strong voices” urged Joseph Tsai, one of the Nets’ owners, to drop the idea of hiring the controversial head coach despite the team’s poor performance because of the controversy.
League sources say there have been some “strong voices” urging Joe Tsai to back off the Nets’ intent to hire suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka as Steve Nash’s successor given the considerable turmoil Brooklyn has already faced this season.
More to come: https://t.co/LGN9cVpMwn
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 7, 2022
During the 2022-2023 season, the Boston Celtics suspended Udoka for the entire season after allegedly having a consensual “intimate relationship” with an employee who was previously unnamed. According to a Sis2Sis report, it was revealed that the employee was a white Mormon woman named Kathleen Nimmo Lynch.
Despite the consensual relationships, the independent law firm that investigated the matter sought a problem with the “power dynamic”—a superior and subordinate. Furthermore, they found Udoka’s foul language used while conversing with Lynch inappropriate.
The Nets were already dealing with the controversy behind Kyrie Iriving’s “Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” anti-semitic post and their loss under the leadership of Nash. So, those “strong voices” didn’t want another PR stunt on their hands. Therefore, Vaughn was their safe bet.
The Nets strongly believed that Udoka could help improve the team and that his leadership skills could get them under control, especially considering they’re nowhere near the top ten ranking for best defensive teams. According to Sportskeeda, Udoka was a rookie head coach when he led the Celtics to the NBA finals during the 2021-2022 season. However, the Nets chose PR over a good coach.
Now, Vaughn leads the team and hopefully can pull them together. The team’s looking at a 5-7 wins and losses ratio.
