The Nets were at the center of the NBA newswire on Tuesday after reaching an agreement to part ways with head coach Steve Nash.
Nash issued a statement on his personal Twitter account, thanking Brooklyn’s front office for the opportunity to coach the Nets.
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) November 1, 2022
It was immediately reported that assistant coach Jacque Vaughn would take over the head coaching role on an interim basis, but that news was quickly overshadowed by the prospect of Nash’s potential full-time replacement.
MORE: Who is Jacque Vaughn? Get to know Nash’s interim replacement
Multiple reports suggested that the Nets plan to hire Celtics’ suspended head coach Ime Udoka as Nash’s replacement, but nothing has been confirmed on that front.
After agreeing to part ways with Nash, Nets general manager Sean Marks addressed the media, answering questions on everything from the head coaching situation to Kyrie Irving’s latest press conference mishap.
Take a look at what was said by Marks.
What did GM Sean Marks say at Nets press conference?
Marks on if any players had input on Nash’s departure
“There was zero input from any of the players on this,” Marks said. This was a decision that… we didn’t need that. Steve didn’t need that. I’ve talked to Joe (Tsai) about this, but the players were not consulted. They were told ahead of time that this was the direction we were going in today, but I didn’t think we needed that input right now.”
Over the summer, there were reports that superstar Kevin Durant gave the Nets an ultimatum — me or Nash. While this would suggest he (or Irving) had some say in Brooklyn’s decision, Marks said otherwise.
Marks on Jacque Vaughn stepping in as head coach
“It’s an easy choice for him to step into that seat right now. I commend him for that. It’s not an easy day for the coaching staff.”
This isn’t the first time that Vaughn has served as interim head coach of the Nets. When the team and former head coach Kenny Atkinson mutually agreed to part ways in 2019-20, Vaughn stepped in and led the Nets to a 7-3 record in 10 games.
Marks on the rumors that the Nets have already found their next head coach
“No. Absolutely not, no,” Marks said firmly.
“There are multiple media reports that you’ve already determined who your next head coach is. Have you?”
“No. Absolutely not, no.”
Sean Marks on the Nets’ head coaching search pic.twitter.com/JL4YNwxCRW
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 1, 2022
Multiple reliable NBA reporters have suggested that Brooklyn is already moving toward hiring the Celtics’ suspended head coach Ime Udoka, but Marks is denying those reports as of now.
Marks on what the Nets are looking for in their next head coach
“The candidates that we’re looking for are going to be bringing that [competitiveness]. That’s gonna be one of their attributes — competitive and having a voice to be able to hold guys accountable,” Marks said.
Marks on the Nets’ championship aspirations
“I’m going to be honest, we have a window here and when we have this group of players and this salary cap and where we are, we hope to achieve [a championship],” Marks said.
“I think we’ve all seen what’s happened over the last few years. There’s been plenty of teams that at one point, looked a certain way, then made some moves and things changed. We hope to be one of those teams by arising at the decision we will make in the next few days and we hope that will be a catalyst for a turnaround.”
Marks on Kyrie Irving not doing media after Monday or Tuesday’s games
“He did not do media (on Monday) and he’s not going to do media (on Tuesday). At some point, he will do media again,” Marks said of Irving, who had an altercation during his media availability on Saturday after defending his social media posts about a movie with an antisemitic message.
MORE: Fact-checking Irving on antisemitic movie
“We don’t want to create more of a fuss right now. Let’s let him simmer down and let cooler minds prevail,” Marks continued. “I think everyone knows he’s going to have to answer these questions [about his social media posts] at some point.”