*The Brooklyn Nets announced on Tuesday that the team and head coach Steve Nash “have agreed to part ways.”
As noted by Uproxx, the move comes seven games into their 2022-23 NBA campaign. The Brooklyn Nets are now said to be eyeing suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka to take over. The deal will allegedly be finalized within the next few days.
We reported previously that Udoka was suspended for a year as head coach of the Boston Celtics for having an affair with a team staffer. Most people immediately suspected Udoka cheated on Nia Long, his longtime girlfriend/partner of 12 years, with a white woman and as it turned out, they were right.
According to Daily Mail, Udoka’s mistress is the Celtics’ service manager, 34-year-old Kathleen Nimmo Lynch –a married mother of three who is said to be a devout Mormon. Her name leaked online after the Celtics refused to identify her amid the league’s announcement about Ime’s suspension.
READ MORE: Stephen A. Smith Has a Theory About Why the Celtics Didn’t Fire Ime Udoka | Watch
The Brooklyn Nets plan to hire Ime Udoka as their new head coach, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Boston granted the Nets permission to speak to Udoka and will allow him to leave freely, sources said. https://t.co/lFeHY8hUiS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 1, 2022
Udoka’s sexual relationship with Lynch is a violation of the organization’s guidelines. After conducting several internal interviews, the team decided to suspend him for the 2022-23 season, per a statement released last month, ESPN reported.
During a recent broadcast of ESPN’s First Take, host Stephen A. Smith shared his belief that the Boston Celtics didn’t fire Udoka over his cheating scandal because the league wants to keep him away from Brooklyn.
“I believe that if Ime Udoka had been fired by the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets would have fired Steve Nash and brought that brother back. And he would be the coach for the Brooklyn Nets right now,” Smith said.
Both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said in a Nov. 1 tweet that “Udoka has emerged as the likely next Brooklyn Nets head coach and his hiring could be finalized as soon as the next 24-to-48 hours”
Wojnarowski added, “Celtics will let him leave for another job.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic also noted on Twitter, “The Brooklyn Nets plan to hire Ime Udoka as their new head coach, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Boston granted the Nets permission to speak to Udoka and will allow him to leave freely.”
According to reports, the Celtics do not have a full-time replacement amid Ime’s suspension.
