As Doc Rivers and the LA Clippers prepare to take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, the attention turned, at least momentarily, to the Brooklyn Nets and their new coach.
On Thursday morning, the Hall-of-Famer was named the official head coach of the Nets. He signed a four-year deal, and will coach the try to lead Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Nets to the 2021 NBA championship.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers reacted to the news before the game against the Nuggets.
“Listen, I’m very happy for Steve. He played the game for a long time at a great level, he’s always been known as a ‘coach on the floor,' he’s worked with several teams since retiring, he’s been around coaching a lot, so I have nothing but good things to say . I hope he does extremely well. ”
The hiring of Nash brought a lot of questions about minorities in coaching, especially the shortage of Black head coaches. Doc Rivers, Dwane Casey, Monty Williams, JB Bickerstaff, Lloyd Pierce are the only five Black head coaches, and the Indiana Pacers just fired Nate McMillan a week after giving him a one-year extension on his deal.
“It shouldn’t be about this time as far as who gets hired, but I’ve just always said there’s a lot of qualified black coaches that I think should get jobs as well, but that’s taking nothing away from Steve.
Throughout his 18-year NBA career, Steve Nash was a two-time MVP, an eight-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA team member, and a five-time assist champion. Since becoming a full-time start in 2000, Nash averaged 16.2 points .3.3 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the field, 43 percent from three, and 90.9 percent from the free throw line.
Nash will have a championship caliber roster ready for him to take over, with Duraant, Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, and Jarrett Allen.
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