Steve Nash’s second season as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets is on the verge of ending in disappointment, but it does not sound like it will be his last.
The Nets are in a 3-0 series hole against the Boston Celtics. NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote on Monday that he does not believe Nets management will use Nash as the “fall guy” after what has been an extremely tumultuous season.
Nash had no prior head coaching experience before the Nets hired him. As Stein notes, the Hall of Famer got the job largely because had had the support of both Kevin Durant and Nets owner Joe Tsai. There has been no indication that he has fallen out of favor with either Durant or Tsai, though Stein describes Tsai as “impulsive and unpredictable.”
A lot of people have compared the situation in Brooklyn to what happened with the Los Angeles Lakers. Frank Vogel was fired even though the majority of the Lakers’ problems stemmed from poor roster construction and injuries. The circumstances would be similar if Nash loses his job. Nash had to deal with the Kyrie Irving vaccination saga, the James Harden trade, and now some drama with Ben Simmons.
There is no question the Nets fell short of expectations again this year. There is also no question that many of the factors that led to that were beyond Nash’s control. Ownership should realize that and try to give him a fair shot next season.
