"Come on, man... Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years" - Kevin Durant comes out in support of under-fire Brooklyn Nets coach

Kevin Durant, immediately after the Boston Celtics stunned the Brooklyn Nets, gave his full and firm support to head coach Steve Nash. Other than KD and Kyrie Irving getting overwhelmed, one surprising revelation in this series was Boston head coach Ime Udoka decisively winning the coaching battle.

Udoka’s defensive scheme had Durant and Irving completely flummoxed. It wasn’t until Game 4 with the Nets’ season on the line that KD looked like his old self, but it wasn’t enough to prevent an embarrassing sweep.

When asked in a postgame interview if he believes Steve Nash should continue handling the team, Kevin Durant unequivocally stood by the head coach:

“Come on, man. Yeah [I believe that]. Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years, he’s been having to deal with so much stuff as a head coach for the first time, COVID, trades. I’m proud of his passion for us.”

The Brooklyn Nets, who just finished one of their most underwhelming seasons in NBA history, will likely play the blame game at some point. Nash is bound to become the top candidate to become the fall guy. Maybe KD’s ringing endorsement might save him, but there's a chance it won’t as well.

To be fair to Steve Nash, he could have done much better had his team played without drama during the season. The Irving and James Harden sagas eventually took their toll on the Brooklyn Nets. It also didn’t help that Harden’s replacement, Ben Simmons, is making the Philadelphia 76ers look like geniuses for executing the trade.

After a humiliating season, Nash is already looking forward to getting a healthy lineup that will have Ben Simmons and Joe Harris. Besides much-needed size, Harris’ shooting and Simmons’ versatility on defense could be game-changers for the Nets.

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Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving deserve more of the blame than Steve Nash for Brooklyn Nets' struggles

The Brooklyn Nets superstars wanted a collaborative approach to coaching. [Photo: NBA.com]

When the Brooklyn Nets fired former head coach Kenny Atkinson, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving scoffed at the idea of a head coach. They wanted it to be a collaborative effort, and Irving declared these words before Nash’s hiring:

“And I think it’s also going to change the way we see coaches. I don’t really see us having a head coach. You know what I mean? KD could be a head coach. I could be a head coach.”

The notion of collaborative coaching by players blew up in the Brooklyn Nets' collective face against the Boston Celtics. Maybe it wasn’t the Xs and Os that had Steve Nash clueless, but the handling of the Nets’ superstar divas that had their coach stupefied.

Irving’s latest comments could be an indictment of how the Nets’ superstars view their head coach:

“When I say I’m here with Kev, I think that really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe [Tsai] and Sean [Marks].”

It’s beyond weird that Nash, the guy who supposedly has a big say on what happens on the basketball court, has been left out. The Nets head coach could have gotten used to this setup as this was what Irving and Kevin Durant wanted right from the start.

They could also be setting themselves up for another epic failure next season by following this pattern.