Brooklyn Nets worst example of dysfunction and there's no end in sight | Opinion

Welcome, NBA fans, to a special edition of Wheel of Dysfunction.

Today’s contestant, and defending champion, the Brooklyn Nets.

Let’s spin the wheel and see where it lands …

Ime Udoka.

After the Nets dismissed Steve Nash as coach on Tuesday, Udoka was immediately named as the likely successor.

You read that right. Udoka, the suspended Boston Celtics coach, is on the verge of taking over for Nash. The Celtics suspended Udoka just before training camp for “violations of team policies,” which has been reported as having a relationship with a team staff member, and according to ESPN, using crude language.

There’s no doubt Udoka is a good coach. He led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season. But for a franchise mired in controversy, hiring a coach with a recent problematic past involving a team staffer doesn’t make a lot of sense. That’s not saying Udoka should be banished forever from coaching in the NBA. But one team thought it was best he stay away for at least a year.

For all the talk teams do about “culture” and “doing things the right way,” the Nets are intent on maximizing a roster featuring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, even if that means bringing in Udoka who was a Nets assistant under Nash in 2020-21.

Another spin of the wheel …

Nash.

No one likes to get fired.

Generally speaking.

Nash should’ve skipped out of the Nets’ practice facility listening to his favorite tunes and headed for his favorite hipster coffee shop in Brooklyn for a hot beverage and delicious pastry.

He should be happy that he is no longer part of that mess. Nash isn’t free of blame in the Nets problems over the past two-plus seasons.

But he had plenty of injuries, Irving’s nonsense on several fronts, including his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine which made him ineligible to play in several games and his recent dive into anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracy theories, Durant’s desire to have Nash fired and the failed James Harden experiment.

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Nash didn’t need this job but was offered a rare opportunity to coach a team that was believed to be championship ready.

Now, he can get back to the life he enjoyed before he joined the circus.

Another spin of the wheel …

The Nets.

Not long ago they were headed in the right direction.

That cannot be said today for many reasons, both on and off the court.

The Nets sold their soul for a title (that remains well out of their reach right now) and are condensed to the most soulless, joyless team in the NBA.

The Nets are 2-6, reeling from the Irving controversy, the firing of Nash and the potential hiring of Udoka.

Brooklyn hired Kenny Atkinson, one of the game’s superb player development coaches, in 2016, and the Nets went from 20 victories in his first season to 28 to 42. There was progress with young players like D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. It looked like the makings of a solid rebuild.

Until Irving and Durant became available. Atkinson had enough and was dismissed though his reputation in coaching circles is stellar.

And while Durant and Irving play brilliant basketball, there’s nothing substantial to show for it and only mess after mess to clean up, including folding on their initial decision not to play Irving unless he was vaccinated. Even on Tuesday, Marks covered for Irving, who continued to avoid accountability. Marks told reporters Irving won’t speak to the media after Tuesday’s game against Chicago because “We don’t want to cause more fuss right now with more interaction with people.”

He also said he wants the next Nets coach to have “poise, charisma and accountability.” The Celtics didn’t think he had one of those characteristics. It’s a word salad just to hit certain buzzwords.

Let’s spin the wheel one final time …

Bankrupt.

Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nets' once promising future fizzles into dysfunction of the worst kind