Steve Nash interviews with Raptors for head-coaching job

It'll be interesting to see what Toronto gleaned from Nash's wild experience in his first go-round as head coach as the Raptors are looking up in the standings in a very competitive Atlantic Division. The cupboard isn't bare in Toronto with Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, but a major part of Nash's coaching record came from having superstar players on the floor. 

When taking the job in Brooklyn back in 2020, it appeared that the team leaned on his prior relationship with then-Nets forward Kevin Durant when both men were with the Golden State Warriors. (Nash was a player development consultant as the Warriors embarked on their dynastic run from 2015-2020.) 

However, fans and media criticized the move because Nash had never coached at any high level and was expected to learn on the fly on a team with title aspirations after trading for Durant and Kyrie Irving the year before. (Durant was on the mend from a knee injury that sidelined him for the 2019-20 season.) James Harden arrived shortly after Nash was hired, adding even more hype and pressure to a roster that lacked the depth to be a true contender.

Unquestionably, Nash made his share of mistakes as an inexperienced head coach. Yet none of them were helped by Irving's limited availability for games through the 2021-22 season due to his COVID-19 vaccination status, Harden's trade to Philadelphia just a year after coming to Brooklyn, and an offseason trade demand by Durant that was contingent on firing Nash. The much-hyped trio of Durant, Iving and Harden only played 16 games together over a two-season stretch before each would subsequently ask for trades out of town. Nash himself was dismissed less than a month into the 2022-23 season.

If hired, Nash would be the second Canadian-reared head coach in franchise history after Ontario native Jay Triano, who helmed the team from 2008-2011. The Hall of Fame point guard was born in South Africa but raised in western Canada.