Nets hire Hall of Famer Steve Nash as coach

FILE – In this Sept. 7, 2018, file photo, Steve Nash speaks during induction ceremonies at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their coach on Thursday, September 3, 2020. 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)

Steve Nash was one of the most entertaining point guards in the NBA, the engineer for a high-scoring team that helped usher in a new era of basketball.

Now the Brooklyn Nets want to see what he can do as a coach.

The Nets signed Nash on Thursday, putting the Hall of Famer in charge of the team that hopes to have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together next season.

“Training is something I knew I wanted to pursue when the time was right, and I am honored to be able to work with the outstanding group of players and staff that we have here in Brooklyn,” Nash said in a statement.

Nash, a two-time MVP as the playmaker for the Phoenix Suns teams under Mike D’Antoni who racked up points and 3s long before they became the norm in the NBA, had been a player development consultant with Golden State, where I work. with Durant.

D’Antoni, now coaching Houston, said he texted Nash when he heard the news.

“Jump out of the pan into the fire,” D’Antoni said.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was a general manager in Phoenix for part of Nash’s time and took elements of the Suns system to win three NBA titles. He thanked and congratulated Nash with a message on Twitter.

“You’re going to smash it in Brooklyn!” Kerr wrote.

The hiring was a league-wide surprise. D’Antoni said Nash had not approached him, nor had Nash told the Toronto Raptors and Canadian national team coach Nick Nurse.

“It caught me off guard, that’s for sure,” Nurse said before Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between Toronto and Boston. “I’ve known Steve for a long time and talk to him quite a bit, and I’ve talked to him quite a bit recently. So, he kept all of that to himself, close to his chest, so it took me by surprise. “

The Nets said they would have a Zoom press conference next week to introduce Nash, the franchise’s 23rd coach and Hall of Fame second baseman with no head coach experience they have hired since moving to Brooklyn. in 2012.

Jason Kidd went straight from player to coach in 2013, leading the Nets to the second round of the playoffs in his only season before going to coach Milwaukee.

Nash is third in NBA history with 10,335 assists and the MVP of 2005 and 2006, one of only 10 players to win it in consecutive years. Phoenix reached the Western Conference finals in both seasons, playing with a style critics despised when the Suns achieved what at the time were the three highest 3-point totals in a season in league history.

Now even the big men shoot 3s as teams prioritize pacing and court spacing over hitting the ball in the paint.

Nash should have a team talented enough to do all of that. Not only should Durant and Irving recover from their surgeries, but players like rising star Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris, assuming he re-signs, would be a great fit.

Unless Nash gives another surprise and plays another style.

“I could go back to the two traditional greats, I don’t know,” D’Antoni joked. “He could just walk up and down and throw it into his big center, so who knows.”

The Nets ended the season with Jacque Vaughn and said he would remain on the staff as Nash’s top assistant.

The Nets made the postseason despite having Irving for just 20 games and Durant for none, but the two stars who came to Brooklyn together last summer are expected to be ready for the 2020-21 season.

That made the Nets vacancy an attractive position, and general manager Sean Marks said he met with several very successful candidates. There was even speculation that the Nets would try to attract Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, for whom Marks played and later worked under San Antonio.

Instead, Marks turned to one of his former teammates.

“In Steve we see a leader, communicator and mentor who will earn the respect of our players,” said Marks. “I have had the privilege of knowing Steve for many years. One of the great leaders on the court in our game, I have witnessed firsthand his acumen in basketball and his selfless approach to prioritizing team success. “

Vaughn ended the season after the Nets surprisingly parted ways with Kenny Atkinson on March 7. He led Brooklyn to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference despite coming into the restarted season at Disney without many of his best players and Marks had indicated he would be a candidate to keep the job.

Vaughn, on the other hand, will return to his old position as assistant to the Nets. He becomes the fourth coach to lose a head coaching job since he was eliminated at Disney and three of them were black. Indiana fired Nate McMillan and New Orleans fired Alvin Gentry, leaving five black coaches and four current vacancies in the 30-team league.

“Jacque has been an integral part of our program and a key contributor to the growth and development of our entire organization,” added Marks. “His role in the development of our players both on and off the pitch and his influence in driving our culture has been invaluable.”

Nash grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, playing for Canada from 1993 to 2004 and then served as the general manager of their senior national team from 2012-19.

Both New York NBA teams have made eye-catching coach hires this summer. The Knicks signed former coach of the year Tom Thibodeau.

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