Will Mavs Ex Nash Have A Kyrie Problem With Nets?

DALLAS - Old Dallas Mavericks pal Steve Nash is the new coach of the Brooklyn Nets, a move that has the obvious support of his GM Sean Marks (they played together in Phoenix) and the likely support of ready-to-debut Kevin Durant (they worked together in Golden State).

But will the first-time head coach have the support of Kyrie Irving?

There are reports that both of the Nets' standout names, Durant and Irving, issued their stamp of approval of the hire of Nash, 46, who has worked as a consultant but has never coached in the NBA before.

But maybe only because Irving has a reputation of sometimes being, well, challenging, one opposing Eastern Conference executive who spoke with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype seems to have his doubts.

"I am not sure if Kyrie will respect Nash as a coach, but I think it’s a great hire," the exec said. "I think Steve displays a lot of the attributes, which are important to building a winning culture. He has a great basketball IQ.''

No doubt about those positives. Also no doubt about what the exec also noted, which is that Nash has had a chance to borrow from some of the best, including the Warriors' Steve Kerr. We would add that Don Nelson and Mike D'Antoni and many others dot Nash's list of connections. So him getting mentorship is not a problem.

Kyrie receiving mentorship? Maybe. ... Though Nash told TMZ that he's visited with both stars, indicating his excitement in working with them.

Also worth noting: The argument made by Stephen A. Smith that this is an opportunity given to Nash because of his skin color is a wrong-headed and unfortunate one. The NBA has a rich history of players moving straight from the court to the first seat on the bench - players-turned-coaches who are white and players-turned-coaches who are black.

That history spans names from Bill Russell to Larry Bird to Jason Kidd.

Nash shouldn't be judged by his skin color. He should - and will - be judged on his ability to work alongside players in a way that produces results. His success will therefore largely be measured with Kyrie Irving as the thermometer.

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