COULD BE A COUP
Garnett thinks Nash’s Nets are in position to ‘take over’ NYC
If Kevin Garnett was in Sean Marks’ shoes as general manager of the Nets, he’d pull off a trade for a third star immediately. Garnett knows all about Big 3s, having won a championship alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on the 2008 Boston Celtics. The Nets, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, poised to take the floor for the first time since signing in Brooklyn last summer, could form their own star trio if they pull off a trade this offseason.
Garnett could see the Nets as a championship contender. A third star, like Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal or Bulls guard Zach LaVine, would put them over the hump — even if it meant trading budding star Caris LeVert.
“I hate to say this, but I would [make a trade]. First off, to be able to get any of those talents, when you have the opportunity to, you have to,” Garnett told The Daily News on Tuesday while promoting responsible drinking with Crown Royal. “LeVert is a really, really good up-and-coming player. He has value. You can leverage that and get you a Zach LaVine who can score with the best of em… Bradley Beal the same. Those pieces there are intricate to the availability — I don’t know how long Bradley Beal is going to be there to be available for Brooklyn.”
The Nets, though, don’t have to trade their young talent, including LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince, all who were named in trade rumors. If the Nets keep the roster as-is (and stay healthy), they would remain one of the deepest teams in all of basketball.
“I like Dinwiddie, too,” said Garnett, raving over the Nets’ backup point guard. “So the fact that these two superstars are able to help some of this younger talent in Brooklyn grow, I’m curious to see how Steve [Nash] is able to finesse and be able to please his superstars, but at the same time have a platform for these younger guys to be able to grow and be better and get better because that’s what Brooklyn is.
“We love Brooklyn because they didn’t have much and they fought your ass for 48 minutes, they made something out of nothing and they’ve been continuing to have that be their template. So I’m very very curious to see Steve [Nash and Marks] put all of this together and watch this thing blossom into something beautiful and possibly take over New York.”
Garnett saw both sides of Nash hiring: a rookie coach, but decorated player who conceded to “skipping the line” full of qualified Black candidates. Nash was one of the best point guards of all time — a back-to-back MVP and Hall of Famer who lapped defenses with the Mavericks, Suns and Lakers during his 18-year career.
He had no coaching experience at all, however, and never won a championship as a player. The Nets picked him to lead a superstar-laden roster anyway, and they demoted a Black head coach in Jacque Vaughn to a (well-paid) assistant role on the way.
“I think people are actually paying a lot more attention to the job that could have been… You could argue that there are some good coaches out here, especially of color,” Garnett told the Daily News. “In this climate where we are, people are looking for Black coaches to have some of the same opportunities.”
He then admitted he was conflicted about the hire.
“I think Steve will do a good job,” Garnett told The News. “He has good players there — matter of fact, he has two great players there. He has a great foundation to start off of, and I look forward to seeing Brooklyn being one of the better teams next year. And Steve’s influence is gonna be a lot of that success, and I look for him to do big things there.
“But if I was to be candid, you’ve got Mark Jackson out there. You’ve got Sam Cassell out there. You’ve got Tyronn Lue out there. You know what I’m saying? Proven guys, but Steve’s my guy. I’ll support him in anything he does, but it was also some — in my estimation — some deeper candidates out there that Brooklyn could have went with.”
That’s one side. Here’s the other.
Nash is a Hall of Famer for a reason. If anyone is qualified to speak on that reason, it’s Garnett, who is also a Hall of Famer and MVP in his own right, and whose 20-year career overlapped with Nash’s. The Big Ticket and the Nets’ new coach battled out West for years.
The official record: Nash 24, Garnett 19, including a 3-0 record for Nash in the Western Conference playoffs.
“Underneath the Hollywood smile, the hair and the dope conversation is a killer. He’s a competitor, bruh,” said the former Net, who played 96 games in Brooklyn on the tail end of his career. “I can remember him never quitting. I can remember him always coming back. I can remember him getting his nose broke and still going. Steve’s a f—king fighter, man. He’s one of them guys you want in the trenches with you.
“There’s only but so many people that you want in the trenches with you,” Garnett continued, “that’s gonna fight back and be right there with you and Steve’s one of them people. I always remember him being a fierce competitor under all that brashness and all that polish.”