NEW YORK — Nets star forward Kevin Durant said he was “shocked” when he learned of Steve Nash’s resignation as Brooklyn’s coach on Tuesday and was announced by the club as mutual.
“You’re always shocked when a move like this happens,” Durant declared after the loss against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. “But it’s normal in the NBA. It’s about getting ready for the game tonight. It’s a quick turn always in the league, especially during the season. You’ve got practice, games coming up, so you can’t think too much about it. It was on my mind for a little bit today.”
Durant stated that he learned about the news about Nash at around 1:15 p.m. ET after waking up from a nap prior to the game and sat down to watch ESPN. Nets General manager Sean Marks said before the game that there was no consultation with players prior to the decision. This is noteworthy, considering that Durant reported that he wanted Nash as well as Marks to be dismissed over the summer, only to rescind his request to trade prior to the season started.
Durant established a strong friendship and a strong relationship with Nash in their days together with his team, the Golden State Warriors, when Nash was an advisor to player development. Durant was asked why it wasn’t working to Nash when he was in Brooklyn.
“A lot of stuff,” Durant declared. “We didn’t have a healthy team. We just didn’t play well. And that’s what happens in the league. S— happens. That doesn’t take away from Steve’s basketball IQ, how he teaches the game. I don’t think that takes away from anything. It just didn’t work out.”
Durant claimed he had not yet spoken with Nash since the transfer was made formal. In the absence of Jacques Vaughn serving as interim head coach and Jacques Vaughn as interim head coach, the Nets lost their 2-6 record following the loss on Tuesday. Durant has repeatedly stated in the past year and he reiterated it again on the other night that he felt Nash was not treated fairly considering the circumstances of his two and a half-year time in the league.
“Let’s be real, we’re pros, we’re veterans. We had a tough start,” Durant stated when asked if he had been involved in the decision-making process prior to. “It was a tough year last year. It was a rocky summer. We knew that everyone was being assessed.
“That’s just how it is in the league. So I liked working with Steve. I like working with the coaching staff. It was a roller coaster the last few years, but the core of it — basketball — is something we all love to do. So regardless of who the coach [is], regardless of the circumstances, you still got to come to work. So I enjoyed coming to work with Steve.”
Durant has been asked by reporters if he believed there was too much agitation within the team to be able to prevail over the course of time.
“That’s the NBA,” Durant declared. “Everybody got volatility if you want to look at it. It’s just a matter of — outside people might look at what we do as bigger than what it is, but we come to work every single day. Guys have asked for trades before, coaches get fired, we have disagreements in our locker room, it happens in the NBA. But at the end of the day we all came to work. It just didn’t work out on the floor.”
