D'Antoni, Stoudemire, Udoka join Nash's Nets staff
Two-time Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni, highly regarded Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Ime Udoka, and six-time All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire have joined the Brooklyn Nets' staff under head coach Steve Nash, the team announced Friday.
D'Antoni, who's coming off a four-year stint with the Houston Rockets, previously coached Nash with the Phoenix Suns. Under D'Antoni, Nash captured back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 as the face of the "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns.
Nash later played for D'Antoni as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2012 to 2014.
Udoka interviewed for a number of head coaching openings in recent years, including the Orlando Magic's in 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers' in 2019, and the Chicago Bulls' in 2020. After wrapping up a seven-year stint in the NBA, he became an assistant on Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs staff in 2012 before working under former 76ers coach Brett Brown in 2019-20.
Stoudemire, a star member of D'Antoni's Suns teams, joins the Nets as a player development assistant. He last appeared in the NBA with the Miami Heat during the 2015-16 season.
Sean Marks, who became the Nets' general manager in 2016, also played with Nash and Stoudemire for D'Antoni's Suns from 2006 to 2008.
D'Antoni, Udoka, and Stoudemire join a Nets coaching staff that already boasts a number of marquee names.
Jacque Vaughn, a former head coach with the Magic, was promoted to interim Nets head coach last season after Kenny Atkinson's firing in March. Vaughn is set to remain in Brooklyn as Nash's lead assistant coach.
Rounding out the coaching staff is assistant coach/director of player development Adam Harrington, assistant coach Jordan Ott, assistant coach/player development coach Tiago Splitter, and player development coordinator Ryan Forehan-Kelly.
The Nets' new brain trust will be tasked with sorting out a roster headlined by a pair of superstars returning from injury in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, as well as a group of younger, homegrown talent.