Charles Oakley is straight-up confused about why the Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their new head coach ... when there are so many other qualified coaches with actual coaching experience!
The NY Knicks legend didn't beat around the bush when we asked him about the Nash hiring ... telling us straight up, "We need more Black coaches in the NBA."
Oakleys says like everyone else in the NBA world, he had no idea Nash was even interested in a coaching gig ... "but that's how the world is."
"People hire their friends, people that they believe in. Somebody must believe in Steve Nash, a great player."
But, Oakley says there are plenty of Black coaches -- like Mark Jackson, Pete Myers and Jason Kidd -- who have been waiting for jobs ... and got beat out because "this guy comes out of the blue."
"That goes to show you we're still behind the 8 ball," Oak says ... "That's what we're trying to fight for, equal opportunity."
"Hopefully, We can get more Black coaches in the NBA because it's a Black league. We should have more Black coaches. More Black owners and GMs."
In case you're wondering, in the 2018-19 season, roughly 82% of NBA players were people of color, according to an ESPN report.
Oakley -- who just joined the new season of "Dancing with the Stars" -- says the level of coaching in the NBA playoffs has been bad ... and it's about time teams upgrade to people who have a legit resume.