Golden State confirm hiring of Steve Nash as part time player development consultant
Reigning NBA Champions the Golden State Warriors confirmed on Friday the hiring of Steve Nash as a part-time player development consultant. In his role Nash will periodically work all through the season with the team on the court.
“Steve Nash was one of the best guards to ever play in this league and we are so happy to add him to our staff and have him working with our players,” said Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. “Even though he possessed incredible individual skills and abilities, Steve always played the game with a team-first mentality, which is something that we emphasize greatly within our group. Steve and I have a great relationship from our time together in Phoenix while I was general manager, and we share a lot of beliefs about how the game should be played and about the work ethic that goes in to being great. I can’t wait to work with him again and have him around our team.”
Head Coach Steve Kerr, Team President Rick Welts and current Warriors full-time player development coach Bruce Fraser have all worked with Nash in his days in Phoenix with the Suns. The trio are among Nash’s closest friends and were able to convince him into accepting the job.
“I look forward to joining Coach Kerr and his great staff and helping out in any way that I can,” said Nash. “The Warriors played such a beautiful style of team basketball last season and it’s a style that I am very familiar with and enjoyed playing throughout my career. This team is extremely talented, as they proved in winning the championship last season, but they also have a number of core players who are relatively young in their careers. That is a very unique blend and I’m excited about the opportunity to work with these guys and hopefully pass along some of the lessons that I learned during my career.”
In an interview with Sportsnet on Wednesday, Nash had confirmed the news of his appointment before the team had made an official statement. In the interview, he spoke in length about his then potential role with the NBA defending champions.
Here’s what former 2-time league MVP had to say about the current MVP Stephen Curry:
"As I've told Steph, his skill level is so high that although we'll be on the court together, I don't know how much I can help him on the court. But through watching a little bit of film and talking, maybe I can help him with situations. But his skill level is incredible, and hopefully I'll learn as much from him as he will from me."
Also on Thursday Warriors Team President Rick Welts denied any confirmation on the appointment but confirmed to Golden Gate Sports on Monday that he definitely supported the move to hire Nash.
"We haven't exactly confirmed that he's going to be there, but if he was going to be there, I certainly added my endorsement to the idea," Welts told the website.There are two things I think you think of when you think of Steve Nash and his career: preparation and discipline. I think those are the things that (he has more of), more than any other player I've ever been around. He has better preparation, better discipline about preparing himself for the task at hand.That's a wonderful trait to share with young players, so should we be lucky enough to finalize that, I'd be a really happy guy."
Curry grew up watching Nash and in part as modeled his game after the Canadian. Hall of Famer Don Nelson, who coached Nash in Dallas and coached the Warriors when they drafted Curry strongly believed that there were a lot of similarities in the their games. However the Warriors guards aren’t the only ones to develop and learn under Nash’s tutelage.
As he was ruled for the season due to a stubborn nerve and back issue, Nash had done similar work with Los Angeles Lakers youngster Jordan Clarkson and many other guards around the league including Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lin, C.J. McCollum and Dante Exum. He also spent the last month with Canada in Mexico during the FIBA Americas in his role of the team’s General Manager.
From 2001 to 2009 in his years with the Suns and Mavericks, Nash’s teams ranked number 1 in the league in offensive efficiency so there’s no doubt his advice can be more than just helpful to these young players.
Drafted 15th overall at the 1996 NBA Draft, Nash racked up 10,335 assists in his 19 season behind only Hall of Famer John Stockton and Jason Kidd. Recently, the Suns announced that they will induct Nash into their Ring of Honor at halftime at the Tackling Sticks Arena during the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trailblazers on October 30th.
He will become the 14th inductee joining Alvan Adams, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Jerry Colangelo, Dan Majerle, Paul Westphal, Tom Chambers, Walter Davis, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Connie Hawkins, John MacLeod, Joe Proski and Dick Van Arsdale.