Nets reportedly plan to hire suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka to replace Steve Nash as head coach

The Brooklyn Nets and Steve Nash have parted ways.

Assistant Jacque Vaughn will take over as interim head coach, but the team is reportedly planning to hire suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka to take his place.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that the two sides are already engaged in discussions and planning to make the hire. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that a deal is expected within 24 to 48 hours. The Celtics will reportedly let Udoka out of his contract to take another job.

If Udoka is the next Nets coach, he brings his own set of baggage into an already tumultuous situation. His first season in Boston was a success as the coached the Celtics to the NBA Finals. But he's suspended for the season for reportedly having "an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff." The official Celtics stance is that he violated the team's code of conduct.

Meanwhile, the Nets are in the third year of their roster construction centered around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The pair was expected to anchor a championship contender. So far the Nets have a single playoff series win to show for it and look little like a playoff team this season amid a 2-5 start.

Udoka would have to contend with the controversy surrounding Irving, who's under fire after promoting an antisemitic movie on social media and declining to back down from his decision to do so. The Nets didn't make Irving available for interviews following Monday's game after he was combative with media on Saturday when asked about the topic.

Managing the reclamation of Ben Simmons' career will likewise be priority. The beleaguered point guard is six games into his Nets tenure after missing the entirety of last season amid his breakup with the Philadelphia 76ers. The scoring woes that plagued him in Philadelphia have so far carried over as he's remained hesitant to shoot the ball. In his six games so far, Simmons is averaging 6.2 points and 4.3 fouls while taking just 5.7 field-goal attempts per game.