Nets hire Nash; Morant is top rookie
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Brooklyn Nets have hired former two-time most valuable player Steve Nash to be their next coach, the team announced Thursday morning.
“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 team-issued statement. “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.”
Nash inherits a roster with Kyrie Irving and a returning Kevin Durant, whom Nash worked with in Golden State, where he was a consultant on Steve Kerr’s staff.
The Nets will retain Jacque Vaughn as Nash’s lead assistant. Vaughn served as interim coach after the team fired Kenny Atkinson in March.
Sources had told The Times the Nets were fixated on a high-profile coach. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg
Popovich was the target of some high-ranking Nets officials, though most believed his departure from the Spurs was unlikely.
In Nash, the Nets hire one of the league’s most accomplished guards, an eighttime All-Star who played in Dallas, Phoenix and with the Lakers. He has no head coaching experience.
“After meeting with a number of highly accomplished coaching candidates from diverse backgrounds, we knew we had a difficult decision to make,” general manager Sean Marks said. “In Steve we see a leader, communicator and mentor who will garner the respect of our players. 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.”
Grizzlies’ Morant is rookie of year
Memphis guard Ja Morant, who led the Grizzlies to the edge of the Western Conference playoffs, has been chosen the NBA’s rookie of the year, the league announced Thursday.
Morant received 99 of the 100 possible first-place votes after averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds, taking his team to the league’s first playoff play-in tournament. Zion Williamson, the top pick in the 2019 draft, received the other first-place vote, finishing third overall.
Miami guard Kendrick Nunn finished second in the voting, and Morant’s teammate, forward Brandon Clarke, finished fourth.