Steve Nash signs deal to become Brooklyn Nets head coach

Former Phoenix Suns point guard and two-time MVP Steve Nash has signed a deal to lead the Brooklyn Nets as head coach.

Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks recruited Nash over the last few weeks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and successfully added him on a four-year deal.

The Nets have opted to hire Nash while keeping Jacque Vaughn as a top assistant. Vaughn led the team to a 7-3 record, including five wins in the NBA’s restart bubble, after he took over on an interim basis for the fired Kenny Atkinson.

Though the 46-year-old Nash does not have head coaching experience, he has been on the Golden State Warriors staff since 2014 as a player development consultant and in that role developed a relationship with Brooklyn star Kevin Durant.

“Coaching is something I knew I wanted to pursue when the time was right, and I am humbled to be able to work with the outstanding group of players and staff we have here in Brooklyn,” Nash said in a Nets release. “I am as excited about the prospects of the team on the court as I am about moving to Brooklyn with my family and becoming impactful members of this community.”

Tasked with marrying Durant and All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, Nash also enters his job with familiarity with Marks, who played with the point guard on the Suns from 2006-08.

Kerr noted that Nash and Brooklyn GM Sean Marks were in Phoenix together when Kerr was the GM and said Nash and Marks "were really, really tight. That part is really important, that connection."

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) September 3, 2020

Nash’s playing career included two consecutive MVP honors in 2005 and 2006, eight All-Star selections, 10,335 assists (third most in NBA history) and an NBA all-time best 90.4 percent career free throw shooting percentage.

Nash was with the Suns from 1996-98 after Phoenix selected him 15th overall in the 1996 draft. He was traded to Dallas, where he spent 1998-2004, and developed into an All-Star before returning to Phoenix for eight seasons (2004-2012). From the 2001-02 season with Dallas to the 2009-10 season with the Suns, Nash’s teams finished first in the league in offensive rating.

The two-time MVP ended his career with the Los Angeles Lakers after they gave him a three-year, $28 million deal in 2012 via a sign-and-trade with Phoenix.

He was enshrined into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2018.

“In Steve we see a leader, communicator and mentor who will garner the respect of our players,” Marks said in a team release. “I have had the privilege to know Steve for many years. One of the great on-court leaders in our game, I have witnessed firsthand his basketball acumen and selfless approach to prioritize team success. His instincts for the game, combined with an inherent ability to communicate with and unite players towards a common goal, will prepare us to compete at the highest levels of the league.”

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