It is a privilege to be a head coach in the NBA, as there are only 30 people in the world who can claim to be in that position at any given time. It is a very prestigious role that comes with a lot of perks, and there are countless people within the basketball world who would do anything to land that job with an NBA team.
While it is a dream for so many, it has turned into somewhat of a nightmare for Steve Nash. There’s been some trouble at almost every step of the way for Nash since he took over in 2020, and it all started with Kyrie Irving saying they didn’t really need a coach. He then had to deal with all the drama surrounding the team, which culminated with Kevin Durant issuing an ultimatum to owner Joe Tsai as he demanded that Nash and GM Sean Marks be fired. Tsai refused this latest demand, and his firm stance meant that Durant eventually relented and agreed to retract his trade request.
Kendrick Perkins Thinks Steve Nash Shouldn’t Trust The Nets Players Anymore
While on the surface, it all looks great for the Nets at this point, the fact remains that Durant demanded that Nash be fired, and there will be some tensions between the two. Kendrick Perkins was on NBA Today on ESPN, where he was asked what he thought of the position Nash was in, and Perkins stated that he hated it.
“I hate it and here’s why. How can Steve Nash actually walk into that locker room and trust anybody at this point? How can he trust his leader, the best player on his team in Kevin Durant after KD called for his job? How can he ever trust Kyrie Irving when Kyrie has disrespected him over the last two years since he’s been there and how can you even trust Ben Simmons? We saw Ben Simmons quit on his team last season so walking into this, Steve Nash is already set up to fail because one, he can’t trust the players and the players don’t trust him. So, how can he be the head coach and actually lead his team.”
Perkins may not always make a lot of sense, but he is on point here. Nash can’t trust any of these three, and you do wonder what the future holds for him at this point. Joe Tsai decided to stick with Nash despite KD’s demands, but if they don’t start off well, he might pull the trigger.
Shaquille O’Neal, who was a teammate of Nash on the Suns in the 2000s, recently spoke about why Durant and Irving don’t respect him. He felt that it could be hard for players to listen to a former player who became a coach if they feel that they are better than he was, and that might well be the case here.
