Getty Head coach Steve Nash of the Brooklyn Nets
Kevin Durant made news on Monday, August 15, when Marc Stein reported that the Brooklyn Nets, around the time of Summer League in Las Vegas that Durant was considering potentially retiring rather than returning to Brooklyn. However, Durant quickly denied the idea of him retiring from the NBA. While Stein reported the rumors in August, they date back to July, but the latest in the Kevin Durant saga involved The Slim Reaper issuing Nets owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum.
With Durant still wishing to be traded from Brooklyn, he gave Nets owner Joe Tsai the option that he could fire the team’s general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash. Tsai immediately responded by publicly stating his support for the Nets front office and coaching staff on Twitter. Reports said that other NBA teams believed Durant knew that Tsai would reject his demand and gave the ultimatum to lower the Nets’ asking price to accelerate a deal.
While Joe Tsai is backing the front office and Steve Nash, not everyone is convinced choosing Nash is the right move.
Evan Turner Sounds Off on Keeping Nash
Evan Turner and Andre Igoudala talked about the Durant situation in Brooklyn. Igoudala pointed out that he believes Durant should work things out and stay in Brooklyn and finish out his four-year contract. Turner added the oddity of choosing a young and unproved head coach after the once-in-a-lifetime talent that Durant has.
“Why are you married to Steve Nash? He’s an unproven coach, KD has had enough coaches and is a basketball savant at this level where he can say, ‘no, this is not good enough. I’m not asking you for nothing, but we’re trying to win a championship, why are you bringing in a new dude?'” said Turner on a recent episode of The Point Forward Podcast.
Steve Nash doesn’t appear to have a lot of faith in him from the Nets players. It was revealed that during the season, Kyrie Irving would conduct his own team practices with the Nets after Steve Nash left the practice.
Kyrie Irving Team Practice Sessions
“And [Kyrie Irving] thinks that he deserves a four-year extension, fully loaded on top of the $36.5 million. I mean what nerve, what gal. Talk about delusional, I mean that’s this dude, that’s Kyrie Irving…Did you know that this brother right here Kyrie Irving, would conduct his own practices,” Smith said during the June 20 episode of “First Take”.
“So, Steve Nash had the team on the floor practicing. They would finish and he’d go and get five guys and conduct his own practice! Do you have any idea how disrespectful that is to the players, you know how disrespectful that is to Steve Nash. He conducted his own practices after Steve Nash conducted a practice.”
Cam Thomas Eye Roll Over Nash Critiques
Irving and Durant aren’t the only ones who have shown a lack of trust in Nash. Cam Thomas had a viral moment after lighting up the Las Vegas Summer League and finding out Nash said he wants to see more playmaking from the young guard. However, while the reaction from Thomas went viral, there was a link to show it likely was in response to a criticism of his passing that has been consistent in his career thus far.