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The Brooklyn Nets' coaching decisions were a point of controversy during Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's tenure. Shortly after the star duo signed, the Nets fired Kenny Atkinson, who had led an underdog Brooklyn squad to the East's sixth seed the previous year. They replaced him with Hall-of-Fame point guard Steve Nash.
Nash struggled to manage the personalities of Durant, Irving and James Harden as a first-time head coach. Durant recently appeared on LeBron James' podcast with his former head coach, saying he felt not everybody on the Nets “was committed.” Irving responded to the comment on Tuesday, revealing that Durant was the driving force behind Nash's hiring.
“Steve wasn't even in the play-in yet,” Irving said on his personal Twitch stream. “But this is your man's. This is your man. So I got to support that. This is your man's. Cool. You want him? Cool. You like Steve? I love Steve. You know what I'm saying? Cool. As a younger brother, I'm like, okay. I don't care. That's fine. You want Steve to coach. That's fine.”
KD on Nets: "It felt like we were committed but everybody else wasn't"
Kyrie: "Nah…when he said this…I was like…we're all committed…but not everybody's gonna do what you want them to do…Steve wasn't even in the play in! But this your mans…You want Steve to coach?…Fine…" pic.twitter.com/nfDhOm8tOA
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 23, 2025
While the Nets' decision to hire Nash shocked many, Durant shared a prior connection with the two-time MVP point guard.
Kyrie Irving reveals Kevin Durant was driving force behind Nets' Steve Nash hire
Durant and Nash developed a close relationship during their time with the Golden State Warriors, where the latter served as a player development consultant. However, a rift developed between the two amid Brooklyn's internal dysfunction, much of which was tied to Irving.
Playoff injuries to Irving and James Harden derailed Brooklyn's most promising title chance in 2021. With Irving in and out of the lineup the following season while refusing to comply with New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Harden requested a trade. The Nets dealt him for a package headlined by Ben Simmons, who was sidelined by a back injury, and were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Durant requested a trade the following offseason. However, with the Nets refusing to comply, he issued an ultimatum to Joe Tsai, telling the Nets owner to fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks if he wanted him to stay.
Tsai refused, bringing back Durant, Nash and Marks to start the season. However, the Nets fired Nash seven games into the 2022-23 campaign amid early struggles. Brooklyn suspended Irving for posting a link to an antisemitic film shortly after.
Irving and Durant both requested trades at the 2023 deadline and were dealt to the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, respectively. Meanwhile, Nash has not coached following his Brooklyn tenure.
