When the Brooklyn Nets announced their breakup with head coach Steve Nash, it was a move that many saw coming months in advance.
You see, after Kevin Durant’s trade demand this summer, Nash’s job was already on the fritz. Once Brooklyn started the season so far under .500, it was pretty much a given that he’d be replaced.
Still, many fans and experts felt sorry for Nash. Given his character, personality, and capabilities as a leader and strategist, many believed he wasn’t given a fair shot in Brooklyn amid all the chaos and drama that transpired.
But NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal feels no sympathy for Nash at all. In fact, as he explained on his podcast, he doesn’t entirely disagree with Brooklyn’s decision to send him home.
“When you do anything in New York, eyes are on you. So he was in New York, that’s the first thing,” Shaq said. “The second thing is you got some great talent on your team, you’re expected to win. Last year was a difficult year because one of your superstars only played half a year. This year, you came in with all two-and-a-half superstars. Everybody was healthy, wasn’t no complaining. Yeah, I said what I said, two-and-a-half superstars and again, you’re still supposed to win. Two are dangerous. The two at one time were compared to Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson], but they just couldn’t get it done. But they 94-67 under Steve Nash, won a playoff round and KD (Kevin Durant) and Kyrie [Irving] only played 64 games together. But this year, everybody’s expecting big things out of them, and it’s just not working out.”
The Brooklyn Nets Are 1-1 Since Firing Steve Nash
It’s easy to point the finger of blame toward Kyrie, Durant, or even Sean Marks. But ultimately, Nash had a role to play in this disaster as well, and it was getting pretty obvious that he just wasn’t the right fit for the group. Regarding what’s next for him, another chance at NBA coaching might still be in his future.
For the Nets, though, there is still so much work to be done. Kyrie still has to serve out his five-game suspension, Ben Simmons has to learn how to play basketball again, and whoever they bring in as the new coach (likely Ime Udoka) will need some time to implement his system.
In the meantime, the Nets could keep struggling for a while. But after Nash’s exit and yesterday’s win without Irving, there is some hope that the best is yet to come for Brooklyn.
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