Steve Nash has been busy lately. He might be retired as a basketball player, but as GM of a young Canadian National Team that is trying desperately to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000, and establish its credibility on the international hoops scene, he’s had his hands full. He can barely make time to get some shots up with Snoop Dogg.
And now, despite what Nash has said to the contrary about immediately jumping into coaching, it appears he’s doing just that. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Nash is finalizing negotiations to join the Golden State Warriors as a part-time player-development coach:
“Sources told ESPN.com that Nash, who was not planning to go into coaching after formally announcing his retirement in March, has been lobbied aggressively by Warriors coach Steve Kerr and team president Rick Welts to spend a few days per month with the team to work on skills with individual players.
The parties, sources said, are in the process of finalizing a deal that essentially will make Nash an occasional tutor to the Golden State guards. Kerr, Welts and current Warriors player development coach Bruce Fraser — all of whom worked closely with the 41-year-old Nash when he was playing in Phoenix — are among Nash’s closest friends in the league and ultimately persuaded him to consider joining the NBA reigning champions as a part-timer.”
You’re probably thinking, how much better can Steph Curry possibly get? He and Klay Thompson already comprise the league’s best point guard/shooting guard combo and arguably one of the greatest backcourt shooting tandems in NBA history.
Consider this: Nash, a two-time MVP, also happens to be a four-time member of the exclusive 50-40-90 club (he narrowly missed hitting that mark in five consecutive seasons after finishing with 89.9 percent from the free-throw line in 2007), and he trails only John Stockton and Jason Kidd as the NBA’s all-time assists leader.
He and Curry are very different types of point guards, but Nash’s court awareness, play-making ability, and decision-making are what made him one of the savviest players of all-time at his position, and there’s no doubt plenty of wisdom for him to pass along to Curry, who’s just now entering the prime of his career. The Warriors will have a giant target on their back this season as they embark on their title defense, so they’ll need all the help they can get to stay atop the NBA mountain, and bringing on Nash — even on a part-time basis — isn’t a bad place to start.
(via ESPN.com)
