Nick Young recently came to the defense of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Steve Nash, who unceremoniously parted ways with the Brooklyn Nets recently.
The 37-year-old appeared on a recent episode of Gilbert Arenas’ podcast where he and the hosts discussed the current situation in Brooklyn.
“If you put Steve Nash in Steve Kerr’s spot, I think he still get a ring,” Young said.
During the discussion, Young and Arenas clarified that the hypothetical situation is for when Kerr became the Golden State Warriors head coach without any prior coaching experience.
Nash joined the Nets in a similar situation. He was a former player who had not coached before helming a squad with multiple stars. However, as Arenas alluded to, the Warriors players were all unsuccessful before winning a title together under Kerr.
Young then mentioned that Nash had the unenviable task of leading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom have off-court baggage.
“I think he got on a team where K.D. and Kyrie is in a situation where they’re trying to find themselves mentally too — off the court more than on the court.”
Unfortunately for Nash, he was unable to put it together in Brooklyn despite the team having Durant, Irving and James Harden at one point. The former star point guard finished his Nets coaching tenure with a 94-67 record.
All things considered, he did a somewhat admirable job. It should be noted that Durant played in just 90 regular season games in the past two seasons. As for Irving, he suited up in 83 games during that stretch. Last season, the team traded away Harden for an injured Ben Simmons.
Currently, the Nets have a 4-6 standing after winning two straight contests.
As disappointing as their record may be, the Lakers can’t afford to feel bad for them. Los Angeles is facing its own troubles, starting the 2022-23 campaign with two wins and six losses.
The Lakers will try to get back on the winning track when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. It will be a tall order, as the Cavs are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with a 7-1 record.
