Steve Nash wasn’t the problem in Brooklyn, but he told GM Sean Marks the players were no longer listening to him, so after a 2-5 start to the season Nash is out as the head coach in Brooklyn.
Steve Kerr has Nash’s back.
Nash worked as a consultant for Kerr and the Warriors before taking the Nets’ job. Here’s what Kerr said before the Warriors took on the Heat Tuesday, via NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s a good reminder to me, and I think all coaches, that we are at the whim of players, front offices, ownership -- you really need a solid situation in which to thrive as a coach in this league,” Kerr said. “Erik [Spoelstra’s] got one here, I’ve got one in Golden State. We’re really lucky.
“You throw either one of us in that situation, we wouldn’t have done any better than Steve. And that’s the truth. So as a really good friend of mine, I feel bad for Steve. But I also know if he ever wants to get back in this thing, he can be great. He just needs a more stable environment.”
There has been a sense around the league that Nash got lucky getting out of that mess when he did — Brooklyn is not a situation a coaching change can fix. Whether it’s Ime Udoka or someone else, the next coach isn’t going to make the front line taller and better defenders, the coach can’t make Ben Simmons stop playing like he’s afraid to be fouled (only Simmons can do that), and no coach is going to keep Kyrie Irving from being Kyrie Irving.
Kerr is higher on Nash’s long-term coaching prospects than many around the league, but there is agreement that Brooklyn was an unfair test for any coach. We don’t know what Nash could do in a more stable environment.
At least he’s out of the unstable one, and some fellow coaches have his back.