By Canadian Press

Struggling Nets part ways with Canadian coach and basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash

Nov 1, 2022 | 11:42 AM

NEW YORK — Canadian head coach Steve Nash is out in Brooklyn after a disappointing start and more controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving.

The Nets said in a release that the franchise mutually parted ways with the two-time NBA MVP and basketball Hall of Famer.

The Nets, considered a title contender at the start of the season with stars Kevin Durant, Irving and Ben Simmons on their roster, are off two a 2-5 start.

Nash had no previous head coaching experience when he took over behind the Nets bench before the 2020-21 season.

Brooklyn made the playoffs in both his full seasons as head coach. But the team was ousted in the first round of the 2021-22 post-season despite starting the season with a roster that included Irving, Durant and James Harden. Irving only played 29 games after declining to receive a vaccination against COVID-19. 

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Durant said over the off-season that he wanted Nash out before walking back his request. The Nets have been another mess this season, with bad play on the court and bad headlines off it.

The biggest — again — was created by Irving, who posted a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter page last week, drawing criticism from Nets owner Joe Tsai.

Nash averaged 14.3 points and 8.5 assists and shot 42.8 per cent from three-point range over 18 seasons as a star point guard with Phoenix, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The eight-time all-star won back-to-back league MVP awards in 2005 and 2006.

He retired after the 2013-14 season and was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Born in South Africa and raised in Victoria, Nash represented Canada internationally multiple times, most notably as the motor of the Canadian team that finished seventh at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.

The Canadian Press