The Brooklyn Nets’ acquisition of James Harden is an exciting one for the team, but it brings a lot of new challenges. Making things potentially more difficult is the fact that an offense containing Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving will have to be guided by a rookie head coach in Steve Nash.
Before the trade was officially confirmed, Nash was asked on Wednesday how he would handle an offense where three stars will all expect to have the ball in their hands in order to make plays.
“I always talk to our players about making each other better and having all five guys be a threat and working to find commonality on the floor and in space together,” Nash said, via Adam Zagoria of Forbes. “It really is a simple game, but it becomes complicated when you put different personalities and players on the floor and our group has done a really good job being unselfish and trying to move the ball and work together so I’ve been proud of that. I don’t think we’ve struggled to share the basketball this year.”
The Nets may not have struggled to share the ball so far, but adding Harden to the mix adds a whole new degree of difficulty to the situation. Nash is right that the most complicated job he’ll have is to manage the demands and personalities that will come with coaching three superstars. One of those personalities has already proven to be a significant challenge for Nash.
The good news for Nash is that Durant and Harden have extensive experience playing together. Nash also has the experience of being a longtime star NBA point guard to guide him. That may make the process a little bit easier.
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