The Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Steve Nash on Tuesday following a 2-5 start to the season.
“Since becoming head coach, Steve was faced with a number of unprecedented challenges, and we are sincerely grateful for his leadership, patience and humility throughout his tenure,” Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said in a statement, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
Nash thanked the Nets for the “amazing experience” in a statement.
Jacque Vaughn will be the acting head coach for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
The Hall of Fame point guard finishes with a 94-67 record at the first stop in his coaching career. He helped guide the Nets to the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, and they may have reached the NBA Finals that year if Kevin Durant’s shoes were one size smaller.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Aug. 8 that the 34-year-old “reiterated his trade request and informed [Nets governor Joe] Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash.”
Although the Nets stuck by the head coach to open the season, ownership and the front office changed their tune after the team opened with a 2-5 record. Something needed to change, and firing the head coach is often the easiest lever to pull whenever a team is failing to meet expectations.