It turns out that people in Brooklyn still pay to see the circus after all — whether it’s worth the price of admission is another story entirely. But under the big top that is the Barclays Center, the Nets just added another remarkably mind-numbing act to the most dysfunctional show in sports.
Following a 2-5 start, the Nets showed head coach Steve Nash the door on Tuesday just seven games into Year 3 of the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant experiment that nearly tipped off its tightrope altogether during the offseason when it was rumored that both superstars would be leaving Brooklyn.
Initially considered one of the brightest minds to patrol an NBA bench after a Hall-of-Fame-worthy playing career as a cerebral, playmaking point guard, Nash simply could not unlock the potential that came with Durant and Irving within his ranks.
Of course, you can’t really blame him for coming up short.
While injuries robbed the dynamic duo — and a momentary big three alongside James Harden for about a year before he forced his way out to Philadelphia — Nash had to navigate through logic-defying acts of befuddlement.
Durant would run his mouth on social media.
Irving wouldn’t take a short trip across flat earth for a vaccine.
Durant gave Nets owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum of either firing Nash and general manager Sean Marks, or trading him.
Irving shared social media posts pushing a movie filled with antisemitic rhetoric.
If I was Nash I would’ve been clawing at the door out of Brooklyn months ago. An abundance of credit goes to him for sticking it out as long as he did.
Now, this is the part of the show where you think things are about to calm down for the Nets. A competent assistant in Jacque Vaughn is there to step up and guide the Nets through the immediate aftermath, which should have at least gotten them through a few of those flaming hoops that need to be jumped through.
Wrong.
Tsai and Marks are dousing the team in gasoline and shrinking the hoops to the size of a baseball.
Multiple reports have tabbed Ime Udoka as the man to take over in Brooklyn for the rest of the season. Yes, the same Ime Udoka who was suspended for the 2022-23 season by the Boston Celtics for multiple policy violations that included an improper consensual relationship with a female member of the team’s staff.
An investigation by the Celtics also revealed that Udoka had used crude and inappropriate language toward the woman.
This is the guy you want to stabilize things that have been off-kilter for the better part of three years? There should be an abundance of red flags, after all.
Consider this: Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season and was then allowed to walk to a division rival while under contract for literally nothing in return.
What does that say about how appalling his actions were?
Take in those smells of cheap fabric and burnt popcorn and get used to them, Brooklyn. This circus doesn’t seem to be leaving town any time soon.
