Steve Nash hired as Brooklyn Nets head coach

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/09/steve-nash-hired-as-brooklyn-nets-head-coach.html



Steve Nash hired as Brooklyn Nets head coach



Updated 10:40 AM; Today 10:32 AM




FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2018, file photo, Steve Nash speaks during induction ceremonies at the Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Mass. The Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their coach Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, putting the Hall of Fame point guard in charge of the team that hopes to have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together next season. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)AP



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com



The Brooklyn Nets have hired Hall of Fame point guard Steven Nash as their new head coach. The team made the surprise announcement Thursday morning.

“In Steve we see a leader, communicator and mentor who will garner the respect of our players,” General Manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “I have had the privilege to know Steve for many years. One of the great on-court leaders in our game, I have witnessed firsthand his basketball acumen and selfless approach to prioritize team success. His instincts for the game, combined with an inherent ability to communicate with and unite players towards a common goal, will prepare us to compete at the highest levels of the league.”

Nash inherits a team full of star power, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both returning from injury to start next season. The Nets will be expected to be one of the better team in the Eastern Conference, and their pursuit of a third star this offseason could elevate them and their first-year coach into a contender.

“I am honored to have this opportunity with such a first-class organization and would like to thank Sean, Joe and his wife, Clara, for having faith in my ability to lead this team forward,” Nash said. “Coaching is something I knew I wanted to pursue when the time was right, and I am humbled to be able to work with the outstanding group of players and staff we have here in Brooklyn. I am as excited about the prospects of the team on the court as I am about moving to Brooklyn with my family and becoming impactful members of this community.”

The Nets fired their previous head coach, Kenny Atkinson, back in March. He led the team to a surprising 42-40 record last season but injuries helped drop them back down to earth this year. The team was 28-34 when Atkinson was fired. Jaques Vaughn served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season, seeding games, and playoffs. He will remain on the staff as Nash’s lead assistant.

Nash hiring gives Irving a former elite point guard he can lean on as someone who understands the game at his level. Nash is a two-time MVP, seven-time All-NBA, and eight-time All-Star. Nash was also a player development consultant for the Golden State Warriors during Durant’s time there, so this is a reunion for the two.


bob
MY NOTE: Will Kyrie see Nash as someone he can/should respect as a former elite point guard or does he see him as a rival for greatness? Nash is a 2X MVP.

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I think Nash will have the ear of his star players. Nash however does not have coaching experience. Experience matters but he has plenty of fire power to work with. Vaughn will likely be the defensive coach on this team.

Congratulation to Nash.

I think you are giving Irving too much credit. Good luck to Nash, he is a smart guy, this will be interesting to watch. Remember those nights of watching Irving tell Stevens what play he should be calling and pouting when it fell on deaf ears???? I would not trust Irving to give his coach the room he is going to need to learn and grow. Look what he did to Atkinson and he was doing a good job

Wow - didn't see this coming. I like this move for the Nets. For some reason, I feel like Nash might have the right touch/personality and pedigree to get KI to buy in, at least as much as is possible for KI.

Steve Nash has one proven personal trait that will be critical for this job. A high threshold for pain.

dbrown4 wrote:Brooklyn continuing in their vein of coming out of left field.  Everybody loves Steve Nash.  But he's no coach.  Now he's walking into a bunch of star power which under normal conditions should be able to coach itself as a team.  In other words, it's going to take a lot to screw this up.

When you have the likes of a great coach Nate McMillan or a Fizdale out of a job sitting on the sidelines, this pick makes little if any sense.  Probably should have tested SN out on a lottery team or something before catapulting him into this dumpster fire.

Maybe Steve wasn't the first pick or even the 8th pick.  We don't know.  Maybe he's the guinea pig.  I would decline the coaching job at Brooklyn if I were in the running.

db  

Rumor was Brooklyn wanted a highly successful coach and was going to pursue Popovich.
I was surprised to hear that they gave the job to a person with no coaching experience.
I don’t think Brooklyn needs a coach like Fizdale who has done nothing as a head coach or Nate McMillan whose teams went 3-16 in the playoffs over the last 8 years.
The coach of this Brooklyn team mainly needs to keep the guys together.
I’m pretty sure Durant and Kyrie were on board with the Nash hiring.

dbrown4 wrote:Durant and Kyrie are probably on board because they don't want someone who is smarter than they are telling them what to do or crossing them up.  What better than to have the perpetual comeback in your back pocket every time Steve tells them to do something or tries to coach those two, "You haven't coached before, have you?  Or won a championship as a player, have you?  Have a seat.  We've got this."  Hell, I'd be walking over broken glass to get that dude hired and in there!  Those two might as well do what Russell did in 1966.  Or was it 1968?

Let's give those coaches who haven't had much to work with and got shitcanned a shot at that title first.  That'a all I'm sayin'.  

This was just a plain stupid, clueless hire IMHBAO.    

db

D - I think you under estimate Nash. He's a smart dude...

dbrown4 wrote:You may be right, Shamrock.  I hope you are.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  But they ain't coaches.  Whole different breed of cat.  Look at MJ.  Smart guy.  Lots of money.  NBA Owner.  His high water covers a lot of stumps.  But his Hornets are pathetic year in and year out.

Steve was a great player.  Very smart guy.  No doubt.  But no record as a coach and he's jumping right into the biggest elite fire in the business head first.  Now granted with that talent level, most of us on this sight could pretty much get this team to the ECF and not show up for half the season as coach.  It will take a lot to screw this up, that's all.  The problem won't be for lack of talent like the Nate McMillan's and Fizdales had to endure.  It will be a great learning experience for him.        

db  

Fair points - and he is dealing with a couple of challenging personalities in Kyrie and Durant...

On the other hand, it seems like coaches in all sports continue to get re-hired even after doing a terrible job.

Hope the Nyets are good next year, on paper they should be. Some intriguing match ups, Kyrie vs Kemba and Smart covering Kyrie will be must see, Durant and Lavert vs 2 J’s should be epic too....

I agree with Steve Nash that he was able to "skip the line" due to his long playing career.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29846101/steve-nash-says-playing-career-why-got-skip-line-become-brooklyn-nets-coach

the Nets will be tough next year if Irving and KD stay healthy.

they will replace Toronto in the standings next year. I hope of course that we replace Milwaukee at the top of the East.

Philly gets Heild in a trade along with Rivers (or ANY new HC frankly over Brown) stabilizes that team also.

my guess right now on the east standings next year:

Milwaukee- they stand pat mostly
Boston- no majors moves
Nets- Add KD to the team
Philly- I assume Heild joins the fun
Pacers- New coach, same mid-level team
Toronto- will lose more than Gasol this off-season
Orlando- Same mid-level team as last year
Washington- the return of $40M John Wall and the trade for P. George brings a playoff birth...barely.

dboss wrote:I think Nash will have the ear of his star players.  Nash however does not have coaching experience.  Experience matters but he has plenty of fire power to work with.  Vaughn will likely be the defensive coach on this team.

Congratulation to Nash.

Okay so I was wrong about this. He has already been emasculated by his star players.

Zero respect for the coaching profession from KI and KD.

Re-imagining coaching by Kyrie is going to turn into a disaster.
What a lack of respect for Nash, even before he coaches one game...smh

Gonna be fun watching this train wreck

I’m betting the second thing is Nash resigns before the first regular season game........and says “no coach ever existed who can coach these two goobers!”