 As you guys heard the news today, first and foremost, I'd like to thank Steve and Leela and the entire Nash family for their commitment, their sacrifice, friendship, and everything they've done, not only for the Nets organization, but for the borough of Brooklyn. I think you guys all know that Steve and I have a very close relationship. We will continue to have a very close relationship. It dates back more than 20 years. That relationship has made this a very difficult decision, but at the same time it's made it a one that I could come to, or we could come to together with an understanding and honest understanding and appreciation for each other and where we stand. So we both felt this was time. It was certainly trending in that way and to be quite frank, the team was not doing what it was supposed to be doing. We've fallen from our goals, of meeting our goals, and it was time now because we still have lofty aspirations of where we need to get to. So with that said, we wish again, we wish Steve and Leela all the best and commend them for everything he's done. And I will also state that just his humility and his leadership throughout his entire time has been something that we've all learned from. His fingerprints will be all over this organization for many, many years to come. So I thank him and his whole family for that. Sean, considering that long-standing relationship, how much input did you solicit from the players, particularly your stars like Kevin and Kyrie in making this decision? And what changed, I guess, from seven games from training camp to now? Yeah, zero, there was zero input from many of the players on this. I think this was a decision that we didn't need that. Steve and I didn't need that. Obviously, I've talked to Joe about this, but the players were not consulted. They were told ahead of time that this was the direction we were going to today, but I don't think we needed that input right now. What changed? I thought our coaching staff, I mentioned, you know, media day our coaching staff had done a hell of a job and continued to do a heck of a job. Getting this group ready and preparing throughout the summer, the sweet equity was the best I've seen to be quite frank. Now, it just, it wasn't panning out on the court and whether it was a voice in the locker room, a change needed, you know, I can list the distractions, you know, and I don't want to get in there because I think I know how competitive Steve is. I think if I sat here and listed one by one and all the things that he had to go through over his tenure here, I'd be doing him a disservice because he doesn't want an excuse. That's not who he is. So he has certainly not had an even playing field, you know, over two and a bit years here. And for that, you know, I certainly feel definitely some responsibility because this does not fall on him. I mean, I take a great deal of responsibility and, you know, in creating the roster, hiring staff, bringing people in, whether that's free agency or draft and what have you. So it's completely unfair to state the fact of where we are as a team and as an organization purely on Steve. Sean, you talked about it being a mutual decision. Did one bring the idea up to the other at first and just how long of these conversations are going on leading up to today? You know, I think that was probably the unique thing the unique thing with Steve and I is we had, we talked daily, if not hourly, you know, on a variety of different topics, subjects all the time, enjoyed the conversations. I learned a ton from him, you know, he's an incredibly intelligent man and has a great feel and a great poise, you know, his character is impeccable. So, you know, when we're having these conversations, he's aware of, hey, they're not responding to me right now or, you know, that was not the performance I needed to see out there and so forth. So we were open with our dialogue, always having. And so, you know, over the course of, you know, the last week, 10 days, we've just been talking and talking and I think it came to a head. Sean, there are multiple media reports that you've already determined to your next head coaches. Have you? No, absolutely not. What are expectations that you will be looking for in a replacement that you did not get in the first couple of weeks of the season? You know, I think when I look at the group of guys out there, I'd love to see them competing at the highest level. I mean, we saw games this year where I'll be honest, I don't think we brought it, you know, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You know, there were times where, whether it was a quarter was taken off, you know, a half was taken off, a game was taken off. We didn't compete. And it's not just the players. I think it's all of us. I talk about being a competitive organization, a competitive environment that falls on all of us and we've got to bring that. So, you know, the candidates that we're looking for are going to be bringing that, that's going to be one of their attributes, competitive and having a voice and being able to hold guys accountable, the same things we've mentioned, you know, over the course of the last few years, that that's what we want to do. The franchise has long preached the importance of culture and accountability. When you are making the decision about your new head coach, how much will you factor in those things? Whenever you're bringing anybody in here, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a new head coach or whether it's an intern, it doesn't matter. You're doing, you do diligence on everybody's background. You're looking at past relationships, prior relationships, current relationships, you name it to make sure that you're bringing in the right people at the right time for the right job. Hey, Sean. There are a lot of people, us included have said you've sent it in already on email with Doka. Are you comfortable that he could be a candidate for you and given what happened, you know, less than a couple of months ago that he would be accepted here if you go that route? Yeah, look, I really don't think it's up to me right now to give a list of candidates who we're talking to and where we're going to arise and where we're going to fall on this. But I would say I will reserve that for when those decisions are made. And, you know, I couldn't give you a timeline of that. Like, you know, obviously there's a reason why we made this move when we did because time is ticking. So we do want this process to be a thorough one. We're not going to skip steps in that. And we'll do our due diligence like on anybody. Like, you know, when I was hired, when anybody was hired here, you know, the organization does, you know, a very, very thorough due diligence on anybody and you rise at the best possible outcome. What do you say to fans right now who don't want to cheer for the team given the way the organization has handled a variety of different issues, including the Kyrie situation in the last few days? Look, it's understandable, you know? I'm completely empathetic to what's going on here. I'm certainly not proud of the situation we find ourselves in, you know? I would like to turn, you know, ESPN or the TV on and not find you talking about us, you know, in that manner to be quite frank, you know? I'd like to get back to basketball. I think that's what our players would like to get back to. They'd like to focus on the things that are important here and that's competing at the highest level and playing basketball games. So, you know, as it pertains to Kyrie, I mean, we are having discussions like that's been mentioned, you know, some internal, some external discussions, you know? I know from the highest levels, you know, we are involved with the ADL and getting their advice and just hopefully they can advise us. We can bring something to the table that both parties, all parties, can be at least understandable to one another here and understand that there is no tolerance and no room for any hate speech, any anti-Semitic remarks whatsoever, whether it's in this organization or any organization to that matter. Understand, there is precedent in the league for players being fined or punished for hate speech. Why haven't you guys disciplined Kyrie? You know, I think we are having these discussions behind the scenes. I honestly don't wanna really get into those right now. We're taking the advice, as I mentioned before, you know, we are talking to the ADL right now. That's on the Joe Si level, our CEO and myself and a group. And really just trying to weigh up exactly what the best course of action is here. Part of it is going to be getting the sides together so they can understand, you know, where people are coming from. It's, there's an education piece for everybody here. There's, as I've mentioned before, there's an empathetic piece to this and understanding that, you know, we need to move on and we need to do the right thing without a doubt. Question. Sean, does the organization still have faith that this can be a championship season? Well, I think we would not have made moves like this at this juncture. If we didn't think, you know, I saw some of you guys saying, you know, they're just trying to salvage the team. You can use whatever sort of buzzword you wanna use. But at the end of the day, my job here is to put this team, this organization, the best possible place to succeed. Not only now, but long term. You know, we don't wanna skip steps. We wanna fast track it here, but we do realize as of me, I'm gonna be honest, we have a window here. And when we have this group of players and this salary cap and where we are, we hope to achieve that, you know? And I think we've all seen what's happened over the course of the last few years. There's been plenty of teams that at one point, you know, look a certain way and make some moves and then change. And that's, you know, we hope to arise, we have to be one of those teams. And we had to, you know, by arising at the decision we will in the next few days, hopefully, that'll be a catalyst for a turn around. Sean, Coach Vaughn's gonna be the next. He's gonna be the interim head coach. I know he's been in this situation before. Can you just describe what you see in him and why he's the best choice to kind of move this team forward? You know, JV and I are very close. I admire him immensely. You know, he has, as you mentioned, you know, he directed us in the bubble and he's one of the most stand up men I've ever been around. So it's honestly, it's an easy choice for him to step into that seat right now and I commend him for it. It's not an easy day for that coaching staff because I can attest to the work that they've done and we've got a great group of guys in there that have really worked extremely, extremely hard. And, you know, when they see that, you know, their leader isn't there for them right now tonight, that'll be, you know, they'll have to rally together and we'll support them and we'll do everything we possibly can for them to go out there and give it their all and I know they will. Two things quick. Did the events of the last few days have anything to do with what happened today? Did any of the events of the past few days lead up to the decision by you or Steve to decide to part ways today? Are you specifically referring to Akai? Yeah. No, no, there's, we try and separate the two things. You know, I mean, I think that's good question and it's easy to sort of lump it all in but I think for where we're at, we're trying to separate, you know, the basketball side of things and what's best for this team moving on and address that and then, again, not to sugarcoat it, we need to address, you know, the other pieces to, not only this, the organization, but just honestly, how can we be a catalyst for what's going on in the world? How can we help here? You know, how can we, whether it's through education, you know, or whatever we're doing, but I think there's a piece to that that hopefully the Brooklynness can be and BSC Global can be a part of. And understanding that Joe is working with the AD Illinois as a prior relationship with them also, why was it decided that in the light of that, it makes sense for Kyrie to continue to be playing and around the team right now while that is going on? Why not have him take a break or be a step away or something as opposed to the path you guys have taken? You know, I think, you know, we've tried to do a little bit of both to be honest, like by keeping him, you know, he did not do media last night. He's not going to do media tonight. And at some point he will come up here and do media again. But I think at this point it's, you know, we don't want to cause, you know, more fuss right now, more interaction with people, like let's let him simmer down and let's let this whole, I guess let's the cooler minds prevail. And I think we need to go out and become, you know, educate ourselves, educate the whole group and get some direction from the experts, you know, and the experts is, you know, one of them is certainly the ADL. Hey, Sean, two things. The conversations of the ADL, is Kyrie taking part in this? I don't want to get into who and how and when these conversations are happening, they're ongoing. I think at the right point and the right time, I mean, you know, Ky can address these for himself and our group will as well. And the reason he won't be talking to us tonight, you said, so there's no fuss, is that, because it's a distraction from ASPALWISE? Is that because he doesn't want to answer more questions about this issue? I think everybody knows he's going to have to answer these questions at some point and he's gonna have to, and he hasn't sort of shied away in the past, but I think the last, you know, post-game meeting, you know, didn't go well and, you know, I think we're not trying to, you know, cover it up. I think this is something that needs to be addressed, but let's address it in the right form and fashion when that is, you know, we'll let you guys know. Hey, Sean, during the off-season, KD had mentioned that the reason why he was uncertain about staying in Brooklyn is because of the uncertainty and he wanted to make sure that he was in a stable culture that's building towards a championship future. Are you afraid of how things will play out for a new head coach that this could jeopardize on his feelings of staying here? You know, I think we have to factor all of these things in. I mean, it's certainly not an easy decision to get to this particular juncture right now and when we make the decisions on who we will hire, I think we have to look at it like what's best for us now, but also long-term. I mean, what's gonna be best for this organization long-term from where we find ourselves in a year from now, two years from now, three years down the road, and who can help steer that ship for sure? Thanks, Sean. Thank you guys.