As of Monday, Nov. 1, Steve Nash is no longer the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and his tenure ended just seven games in his third season at the helm. Following a summer during which it was widely reported that Kevin Durant issued an ultimatum that both Nash and GM Sean Marks be fired in Brooklyn, it isn’t a total surprise that Nash did not navigate the entire 2022-23 season as the team’s head coach. Still, coaching changes after only seven games are not the norm, and Durant revealed on Tuesday that, in his words, he learned of Nash’s departure from ESPN following a nap and that he was “shocked” by the news.
Kevin Durant said he woke up from a nap at 1:15pm this afternoon and saw the news about Steve Nash’s departure on ESPN:
“Shocked, you’re always shocked when a move like this happens. But it’s normal in the NBA” pic.twitter.com/sll1popqA5
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) November 2, 2022
Durant was later asked if he was consulted on the move and, while he did not issue a complete denial, he expressed that he enjoyed working with Nash and enjoying coming to work with his now-former coach.
“We had a tough start, it was a rocky year last year, a rocky summer. We knew that everybody was being evaluated. I liked working with Steve [Nash]”
Kevin Durant said that he was not consulted on Steve Nash leaving the Nets pic.twitter.com/KZ9TdcMkub
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) November 2, 2022
in some ways, it seems far-fetched that Durant wasn’t at least part of the process in parting ways with Nash, simply because of what transpired over the summer. Durant acknowledged it was “rocky” in the offseason, but even a 2-5 start doesn’t fully explained what might’ve changed to have this decision made at the end of October. Furthermore, the Nets actually won Nash’s last game, which isn’t usually a trigger for a firing like this in the midst of a back-to-back set. Alas, Durant indicates he didn’t know it was coming and it must be wild to learn something like this following a nap and via an ESPN telecast.