“I don’t think that he should have been put with those 3 superstars” - Gilbert Arenas believes 8x All-Star was the problem in the Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have not had a successful season since forming their Big 3. Gilbert Arenas believes head coach Steve Nash was not experienced enough to handle the personalities of the players.
On September 3, 2020, Nash was announced as the new head coach of the Nets. In January 2021, the Nets acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets to form a Big 3 that included Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Brooklyn Nets were automatically the favorites to win the title that year but failed to go all the way. Harden and Irving missed the Eastern Conference semifinals due to injury, resulting in a 4-3 loss to the eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.
On VLAD TV, Arenas spoke about the problems with the Nets following their humiliating loss to the Boston Celtics last year. He believes Nash is to blame, saying he probably should have started his coaching career with a young, developing team.
"I think the problem with the Nets was, and I don't want to put any bad things on his name, I think the problem was Steve Nash. Here's why you're not Steve Nash the two-time NBA player. You're Steve Nash a rookie coach.
"You have champions coming into your program, you have champions coming in there. They've been through champion situations. One was at LeBron so they ran that organization the way they ran it. Then you had one who played in Golden State, that organization and how they ran stuff it worked.
Arenas mentioned that Irving and Durant are top players who have been in championship-winning environments. They would require a certain degree of engagement and coaching, which Steve Nash may not be able to offer straight off the bat. Due to this, Arenas stressed that the tide would always be against Nash, considering he is relatively inexperienced.
"So now when you're a rookie coach and you got these two players coming in your practices and your games and they're really dissecting everything you're doing.
"So, when you're talking about, 'Oh we're going to practice for an hour-and-a-half,' and both of them practiced for 30 minutes and they did all this stuff individually and that's what was successful, you're gonna sit there and bump every time you do something wrong.
"You're not gonna get a fair assessment of what you're capable of. So, I thought he should have gotten like a developmental type of team. You know? Grizzlies, Sacramento, one of those type of teams. I don't think that he should have been put with those super three superstars."
After a year with the Brooklyn Nets, Harden quickly moved on and joined the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant and Irving also wanted to leave this summer but are seemingly staying put.
Kevin Durant wanted Steve Nash fired as a condition to remain with the Brooklyn Nets
Durant first handed in his trade request on June 30 before the start of free agency. After several failed attempts to move him, KD gave the Nets an ultimatum.
In a meeting with franchise owner Joe Tsai, Durant demanded that it is either him or the duo of general managers Sean Marks and Nash. Tsai cleared his support for his staff, with Durant leaving the more likely outcome.
"It's clear that Kevin Durant has checked out of Brooklyn.. Joe Tsai made it clear that he's siding with Sean Marks & Steve Nash" ~@ShamsCharania
#PMSLive https://t.co/fzzGqMU6bv
However, the two-time NBA champ has rescinded his trade request. Marks made the revelation via a press statement, stating that they will run it back.
Breaking: Kevin Durant has reached an agreement with the Nets to stay in Brooklyn, the team announced. https://t.co/q1rQn1bG7D
The Brooklyn Nets are one of the favorites to win the 2023 title. Although they have the talent, there is a lot more work that needs to be done to win.