The Steve Nash era in Brooklyn officially came to an end yesterday as the Nets parted ways with their head coach. Nash was doomed right from the start when Kyrie Irving said they didn’t really need a coach after he was hired, and, in some ways, you have to say the Nets put him out of his misery.
While any first-time head coach would love it if they went into a situation where the team had some star power, this Nets situation was really not one for a first-time head coach. There was way too much drama, and you needed a much stronger voice with a lot more cache to handle that locker room. Nash told GM Sean Marks that the players were not responding to him, which made it clear that a change had to be made.
Charles Barkley Blames Kevin Durant And Kyrie Irving After The Nets Fired Steve Nash
There was a lot of sympathy for Nash around the league, with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr saying neither he nor Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra would have succeeded in Nash’s position. Charles Barkley also came to Nash’s defense on Inside the NBA, as he said Nash is just a scapegoat.
(starts at 5:29 mark):
“First of all, Steve Nash is a scapegoat, let’s get that out of the way. Steve Nash is a scapegoat for these players acting like idiots and fools. It is really starting to be a joke, past being a joke.”
Barkley went on to add, “You let these players run this man off his job because they were acting like fools. This is all on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. Steve Nash is just a scapegoat. I don’t know if Steve Nash is Red Auerbach or whatever. This thing was never going to work when he (Irving) said, ‘We don’t need a coach.’”
“Nobody was talking about how bad of a coach Steve Nash was two, three years ago. All of a sudden these guys started acting like fools and jackasses and now, ‘Oh, Steve Nash can’t coach.’”
The coach always ends up being the fall guy, even if the players are to be blamed, as it is easier to get rid of one individual than retool an entire roster. The Nets will be hoping that perhaps a new face can get through to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but that would be quite difficult for anybody.
Former Nets assistant Ime Udoka has emerged as the frontrunner for the job, and he brings some drama of his own, as he is currently serving a one-year suspension with the Celtics. Perhaps Udoka, who has been there before, can handle these guys, or maybe the drama might just get completely out of control. It looks set to be another interesting season in Brooklyn.
