The Brooklyn Nets made one of the biggest surprises of the season on Thursday, announcing the hire of Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash to be their next head coach. Nash had previously been an adviser for the Golden State Warriors, where he developed a personal relationship with Nets star forward Kevin Durant.
The fingerprints of Durant are all over the hire and his influence in bringing Nash in seems a lot like what many believe LeBron James does whenever he goes to a team: controls the team’s decisions on every level. Nash’s resume as a player is incredible and he is a respected basketball mind, but the decision does appear to be something the Nets were strong-armed into doing by their star.
Just last summer, it was clear that LeBron James wanted Ty Lue to be the Lakers coach. Of course, the contract talks broke down and eventually the Lakers hired their current head coach Frank Vogel. It will be interesting to see if putting this decision in the hands of their star player works out for Brooklyn the way they hope.
