Following a long stressful summer for the Brooklyn Nets, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal talked about his former teammate Steve Nash and the coaching situation happening across the bridge.
In an interview with associate editor Bill DiFilippo of Uproxx, he asked the big man if he thought Nash could navigate this season as the Nets coach. Shaq responded by saying that he could never lead a team with a lack of respect, inferring the Durant-Nash situation.
“Before I answer the question, I’m gonna tell you a little story. A guy asked me the other day, “you ever think about coaching?” And the answer is no. He said why? When a guy makes 20 times more than you, it’s gonna be hard for them to respect you. It shows that they don’t respect him. All the “I want him gone, I want him gone,” and then to come back and say we worked it out, nah, it ain’t that easy. As adults, we can have a heart-to-heart, we can iron it out. But it’s still right here. So when things don’t go right, they’re gonna blame it on him. So, he’s gonna have to demand their respect. As a player, if you know you were better than a former player who’s now a coach, it’s gonna be hard for you to, in tough situations, listen to him. So, it’s gonna be tough. I know the coaches I played for, they put their foot down. Sometimes you got to put your foot down, even if the player makes a $50 million, you got to put your foot down, especially if they ain’t gonna step up, anyway.”
The Durant-Nash relationship will be something to watch all season when 2022-23 gets underway. The future Hall of Famer delivered an ultimatum to team governor Joe Tsai that it was either get rid of Nash and GM Sean Marks or trade Durant. Neither
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