Kyrie Irving gets honest about Steve Nash, Brooklyn Nets

The coach of that ill-fated squad was none other than former Mavericks great Steve Nash, who won back-to-back MVPs with the Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000s. He is thought of as one of the greatest basketball minds in the sport's history, but was a first-time coach when he took over the Nets in 2020.

Irving opened up about Nash and his role as the head coach, lamenting a lack of experience: "I felt like there were other candidates out there that could have definitely been our head coach that had championship experience. I think Steve had championship experience in his own way, in his role that he played in Golden State. But in terms of being a head coach, I had my own thoughts."

When referencing the Warriors, he is, of course, referring to Nash's time as a player development consultant with the franchise. The relationship Nash developed with Durant at Golden State is a likely reason for his eventual rise to the head coaching ranks in Brooklyn, as Durant, along with Irving and Harden, made up the core of the new-look Nets.

The three-year experiment failed despite championship aspirations – though they took the eventual-champion Milwaukee Bucks to seven games in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, there was no material success beyond that. Durant, Harden, and Irving all forced their way out of the franchise, and Nash has not taken another coaching job since.

While people may be upset with Irving about his outspokenness, it appears he may have been onto something here. Experience matters in coaching, even with a genius like Steve Nash.