Should Nash get some heat?

[Saints14]

Obviously, he’s been dealing with some interesting personalities and he wasn’t brought in to be a disciplinarian…but so far KD has been the only star player on that team who seems to care about winning. Nash has let Kyrie miss games whenever he wants, oversaw Harden get disgruntled with the team, and is now letting Simmons take his time getting on the court while the Nets are stuck in the play-in. Are we at the point where it’s just a bit too out of control there, and maybe Nash lacks certain leadership qualities for this roster?

[GeorgeMarcus]

Hard to say given that their roster has been constantly changing since he got there. I would at least wait until they can play 2 of their 3 all stars at the same time

[picc]

The Nets have no offensive system. That would be manageable, but they have no defensive system either. They depend entirely on top 1% isolation players carrying the team and doing enough to offset their lack of offensive nuance and defensive coaching.

Their lineups make no sense from a spacing standpoint, often playing three non shooters at once while they bleed points, which doesn't bode well for when he starts integrating Simmons into the team, if he ever plays.

There's no continuity since he plays different lineups every night, and guys don't know if they're going to play or sit any given game day.

The more I see of Nash, the less I blame Harden for wanting to leave tbh. Between the injuries, bs (vaccine mandate), lack of continuity, and baffling coaching decisions, I kind of understand wanting to get out of the dumpster fire into a more stable situation. And there's absolutely no one I hate in the NBA more than James Harden.

[Pachinko_]

The more I see of Nash, the less I blame Harden for wanting to leave tbh. Between the injuries, bs (vaccine mandate), lack of continuity, and baffling coaching decisions, I kind of understand wanting to get out of the dumpster fire into a more stable situation.

He's like the 3rd highest paid coach in the NBA, where else is he gonna find such idiots?

[Upperclass]

Nash is a far worst coach than imagined.. Kyrie said he didnt want to be coached.. so maybe Steve went in to just manage egos.. But as mentioned.. anything to do with the actual game.. is nonexistant.. They just roll the ball out on O, and play vanilla Man to man on D.. so any decent team that they cant outscore just rolls past them.

This also speaks to how bad the knicks are..

anyone who thinks that Simmons and KD willl fix whats wrong with their roster hasnt been paying attention.

[Duke4life831]

I don't think he's been good. But you kind of have to wait for him to have his actual starting lineup before we judge him. They have to have had one of the most different starting lineups over the last two seasons.

For instance we can't really judge him off of today's game. No KD, Kyrie, Simmons. Let's see what he does with the actual starting lineup together.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Kyrie said he didnt want to be coached

If mgmt is catering to his request, that sounds like problem #1

[Saints14]

I don't think he's been good. But you kind of have to wait for him to have his actual starting lineup before we judge him. They have to have had one of the most different starting lineups over the last two seasons.

For instance we can't really judge him off of today's game. No KD, Kyrie, Simmons. Let's see what he does with the actual starting lineup together.

That's kind of my point though. Injuries aside, part of the reason we never see their full lineup is because there's been no urgency for the stars to actually play (or play hard), and no consequences when they don't. As the leader of that team he hasn't gotten any of the stars to buy into a team-first mentality

[Duke4life831]

I don't think he's been good. But you kind of have to wait for him to have his actual starting lineup before we judge him. They have to have had one of the most different starting lineups over the last two seasons.

For instance we can't really judge him off of today's game. No KD, Kyrie, Simmons. Let's see what he does with the actual starting lineup together.

That's kind of my point though. Injuries aside, part of the reason we never see their full lineup is because there's been no urgency for the stars to actually play (or play hard), and no consequences when they don't. As the leader of that team he hasn't gotten any of the stars to buy into a team-first mentality

What is he supposed to do about this though? How is he supposed to get his stars to play more games outside of their injuries?

No head coach out there is going to convince Kyrie to get the vaccine. Outside of that I'm not sure what you're referencing.

Not play hard? KD and Kyrie seem to play hard when they're on the court. Harden wasn't happy there and didn't get along with the other guys on the team. That really isn't on Nash.

Last year they were half an inch away from beating the eventual champs in the playoffs. So not really sure I see the not buying into the team mentality thing either.

Again this isn't me saying I think Nash has been a great coach, I don't think he has. But again he has barely been able to coach his team at full strength and that is out of his control.

[xdrta+]

Well, Nash will have some time to contemplate his sins as he went into Health and Safety Protocols today.

[Saints14]

I don't think he's been good. But you kind of have to wait for him to have his actual starting lineup before we judge him. They have to have had one of the most different starting lineups over the last two seasons.

For instance we can't really judge him off of today's game. No KD, Kyrie, Simmons. Let's see what he does with the actual starting lineup together.

That's kind of my point though. Injuries aside, part of the reason we never see their full lineup is because there's been no urgency for the stars to actually play (or play hard), and no consequences when they don't. As the leader of that team he hasn't gotten any of the stars to buy into a team-first mentality

What is he supposed to do about this though? How is he supposed to get his stars to play more games outside of their injuries?

No head coach out there is going to convince Kyrie to get the vaccine. Outside of that I'm not sure what you're referencing.

Not play hard? KD and Kyrie seem to play hard when they're on the court. Harden wasn't happy there and didn't get along with the other guys on the team. That really isn't on Nash.

Last year they were half an inch away from beating the eventual champs in the playoffs. So not really sure I see the not buying into the team mentality thing either.

Again this isn't me saying I think Nash has been a great coach, I don't think he has. But again he has barely been able to coach his team at full strength and that is out of his control.

I think when one or two things like this happen you can chalk it up to player personalities and explain them away, but when taken collectively it's fair to start looking at leadership. Kyrie is Kyrie, ya I agree he almost certainly wouldn't have gotten vaccinated no matter what, but I was thinking of how he randomly took some time off last year and how that set the tone for how players could walk over Nash (seeing it again with Simmons IMO). Not playing hard was referring to Harden - and I do think if team chemistry is off to the point where one of your best players dogs it on the court and demands a trade, the coach should hold some accountability.

I don't know if any coach outside of maybe Phil Jackson could manage this roster, and I don't mean to suggest Nash alone is responsible by any means...I just think it's weird how Kyrie/Harden/Simmons' issues are well documented, but nobody questions the supposed leader of the team. I just don't think anybody on that team respects his authority

Spoiler:

[Nate505]

I don't think Nash is great or anything, but right now with his three best players:

1) Is hurt
2) Is a flat earth woke nutjob who can't play home games
3) Is a mentally weak joke who is such a horrible professional that he's hurt himself getting back in game shape.

[CIN-C-STAR]

I thought they just hung a banner up last season for almost beating Giannis and the Bucks

But seriously, yes. Less about their record and more about the fact they haven't even been competitive in A LOT of games.
Obviously he's had to face a lot of challenges and it's not all on him, but this is what he signed up for.

[Dupp]

Nah, that team looked unbeatable. Unfortunately for him the 3 massive divas were inevitably gonna have issues.

[Tottery]

I don't believe so...he was dealt a hand that seemed great, but turned out to be crappy. Irving is part time, KD is hurt, Simmons is sitting out etc. All their best players are rarely available. No coach can fix that.

[VanWest82]

For what? Imagine having to coach Kyrie, Harden, KD, Blake, LMA, and now Ben. He was hired to manage personalities. I guess you could fault him for not keeping the Harden situation in check, as if there's anyone on the planet who could've done that.

[danvato]

For what? Imagine having to coach Kyrie, Harden, KD, Blake, LMA, and now Ben. He was hired to manage personalities. I guess you could fault him for not keeping the Harden situation in check, as if there's anyone on the planet who could've done that.

Doing that while playing with 1 or 0 starters.

[Upperclass]

I think Dantoni leaving is an underrated part of why they're so bad actually.. He didn't help on D obviously, but he knew Hardens game on O and Steve's .. right now its just Nash who doesn't Coach, Vaughn whos proven he cant coach and Kyrie who doesn't want to be coached

[SkyBill40]

Nah. Nash is just a guy who's being forced to play mediator to a bunch of other grown men with enormous egos that have no desire to listen to what he's saying, be it in their best interest or the team's best interests. This is what happens when you cater to and pamper people at this level. Nash isn't the one responsible for getting the ball through the hoop, so why should he get the blame? Coaching, in my opinion, is largely overrated and especially so at the NBA level... but that isn't to say it has no effect on players IF they are willing to listen and accept what's being conveyed. Those guys all know how to play and what to do, so this is nothing new to them. Truly, it's more a matter of whether or not they want to do it as a team or as a collective of individuals. Right now, it would seem far more to the latter and that's even after Harden was moved.

[celticfan42487]

Kyrie said he didnt want to be coached

If mgmt is catering to his request, that sounds like problem #1

To their defense, that's the deal they and all big markets gladly make.

There's only like at best 5 MVP level players in the league and if you can get one just by making your GM and Coach role meaningless you'll always do that.

Championships are 90% talent and 10% coaching in the NBA anyways.

So they can't suddenly have a backbone after promising to KD and Irving that they will trade everyone away and bow to every demand they can potentially fulfill.