NEW YORK – Kevin Durant woke up from a pregame nap on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) to ESPN’s breaking news of Steve Nash’s firing.
A couple of months ago, Durant delivered an ultimatum to Nets owner Joe Tsai to choose between him or Nash and general manager Sean Marks.
So, the news shouldn't come as a surprise, given their poor start under Nash. But the players, even Durant, were not consulted, according to Marks.
"You're always shocked when a move like this happens," Durant said after losing their first game without Nash, 108-99, to the Chicago Bulls later in the night. "But it's normal in the NBA. It's about getting ready for the game tonight. It's a quick turn always in the league, especially during the season. You've got practice and games coming up, so you can't think too much about it. It was on my mind for a little bit today."
There was no sign of distraction in Durant’s numbers: 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
It was Kyrie Irving who was visibly affected. Whether it was Nash’s firing or the latest firestorm he created with his last week’s Twitter post of an antisemitic film could not be known as the Nets are keeping him off the media until the issue simmers down, according to Marks.
Irving finished with only two points. The controversial guard did not score until the fourth quarter, which hastened the Nets’ sixth loss in eight starts.
Marks and Nash never wanted it to end like this.
When Tsai stood by them, Marks and Nash worked on repairing Durant’s trust issues with the organization’s ability to win a championship in his last few remaining prime years.
Durant rescinded his trade demand. Irving returned with a chip on his shoulder with no more vaccine mandate to restrict his availability. Ben Simmons also made his much-awaited comeback from a 470-day layoff due to mental health and back issues.
They thought all’s well that ends well, right?
Except it was not. The exact opposite happened.
A poor start with the league’s worst defense and another Irving controversy threatened to torpedo what could be their last title window in the Durant era.
Over the course of the Nets’ 1-5 start, Nash already knew the writing was on the wall.
He has lost his locker room.
“The last week, 10 days, we've just been talking and talking, and I think it came to a hit,” Marks said.
In a desperate effort to salvage what is shaping up to be another disappointing season, the Nets fired Nash and reportedly are moving swiftly to hiring his former assistant turned tormentor in the last NBA playoffs, Ime Udoka.
While Udoka’s coaching resume is far superior to Nash’s, he would come with excess baggage from Boston.
The Celtics suspended Udoka for one season after violating team policies, which stemmed from using crude language prior to starting an improper relationship with a female subordinate.
The drama never ends in Brooklyn.
Nash was fired, but perhaps it was more of a relief.
Marks and Durant said “a lot of stuff” contributed to Nash’s failure to deliver a championship during his tumultuous two-and-a-half years in Brooklyn.
“We didn’t have a healthy team. We didn’t play well. And that’s what happens in the league. S—t happens. That doesn’t take away Steve’s basketball IQ, how he teaches the game. I don’t think that takes away from anything. It just didn’t work out,” Durant said.
Marks added that he takes part of the blame.
“I certainly feel some responsibility because this is all on [Nash]. I take a great deal of responsibility in creating the roster, hiring staff, bringing people in, whether that's free agency or draft and what have you. So, it's completely unfair to state the fact of where we are as a team as an organization purely on Steve,” Marks said.
Nash was dealt with bad hand after another.
Irving and Harden got injured in their Eastern Conference semifinal loss to eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks two seasons ago. Irving’s anti-vaccine stance caused him to miss a big chunk of last season, leading to James Harden’s trade request. Durant suffered an MCL injury and they fell from the top of the Eastern Conference to the play-in tournament. Simmons, the headliner in the Harden package, never made his Nets debut until this season.
Prior to that fateful Tuesday, November 1 was always remembered as the day Nash made his NBA debut 26 years ago. That day from hereon will be bittersweet for the Hall of Game point guard and two-time MVP.
“That's the NBA,” Durant said when asked if too much volatility prevented them from winning. "Everybody got volatility if you want to look at it. It's just a matter of — outside people might look at what we do as bigger than what it is, but we come to work every single day. Guys have asked for trades before; coaches get fired, we have disagreements in our locker room, it happens in the NBA. But at the end of the day, we all came to work. It just didn't work out on the floor."
It was never meant to work out for the soft-spoken Nash, who could not hold Irving nor Harden accountable.
The Nets are betting it will finally work out with a stronger voice in the locker room — may it be Udoka or somebody else.
“The candidates that we're looking for are going to be bringing that [competitive edge]. That's going to be one of their attributes — competitive and having a voice, and being able to hold guys accountable — the same things we've mentioned over the last few years. That’s what we want to do,” Marks said.
Easier said than done in this player empowerment era.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.