Steve Nash became an MVP and Hall of Famer playing for Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix (and they were together on the Lakers as well).
Now D’Antoni’s next job could be as the right-hand man of Nash in Brooklyn.
There are multiple reports now out of New York that Mike D’Antoni could join the staff of first-time head coach Steve Nash in Brooklyn. Frank Isola of SiriusXM and the YES Network is one of them.
Mike D’Antoni and Phil Handy are both potential candidates to join Steve Nash’s coaching staff in Brooklyn, according to a source.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) October 14, 2020
Nash and D’Antoni remain close, which helps make the transition smoother, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Nash could have an impressive staff in Brooklyn. Jacque Vaughn — the former Orlando head coach who became the Nets’ interim coach after Kenny Atkinson was fired — is the lead assistant. D’Antoni would have a big role, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more respected assistant coach around the league than Handy.
Brooklyn enters next season with a lot of talent — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, and more — but questions about fit and style of play. What is this going to look like? How much of the “we will work harder than you” culture Atkinson built will remain? Do the Nets have enough, or like Irving said do they need one more piece in an East with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee, on-the-rise Boston with Jayson Brown and Jaylen Tatum, Philadelphia with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in, and this year’s East champions Jimmy Butler and Miami?
It is a lot to ask, but adding D’Antoni to the mix makes the Nets better.