Now that the Golden State Warriors are expected to hire Steve Nash as a part-time player development consultant, they are adding even more experience to their already formidable franchise.
After dominating the league with a 67-15 record and being crowned NBA champions by defeating LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors are a frightening force to be reckoned with as we approach the 2015-16 season. Except for David Lee joining the Boston Celtics, the Warriors managed to keep their title-winning squad together and are set to take the league by storm yet again. Now, they’re expected to add even more valuable experience to their organization with the likely hiring of two-time MVP and Steve Nash.
First, the Warriors made what ended up being an exceptional hiring by adding Steve Kerr as their head coach prior to last season. And despite being a first time head coach, he couldn’t have delivered any better. The Warriors were already full of talent, but Kerr seemed to gel the team together to help maximize their ball movement and improve their team play on defense even further.
If they add one of the best point guards of all-time in Steve Nash to their coaching staff as well, the Warriors will have even more experience to support and tutor their core of young NBA champions.
Marc Stein of ESPN has reported the details of the expected addition of Nash to the Warriors:
"“Two-time MVP Steve Nash is in advanced negotiations to join the Golden State Warriors as a part-time player development consultant, according to league sources.Sources told ESPN.com that Nash, who was not planning to go into coaching after formally announcing his retirement in March, has been lobbied aggressively by Warriors coach Steve Kerr and team president Rick Welts to spend a few days per month with the team to work on skills with individual players.The parties, sources said, are in the process of finalizing a deal that essentially will make Nash an occasional tutor to the Golden State guards.”"
Stein also added that Nash was persuaded to join the team in a part-time role by Kerr, Welts and their current player development coach Bruce Fraser. So, even if Nash isn’t traveling around the country with the team, he can still share his gems of wisdom to the Warriors’ backcourt when they are training at home.
Monte Poole has added to the story, stating that CSNBayArea.com sources have actually confirmed the Warriors will be adding Steve Nash:
"“The Santa Clara University product [Nash] will be joining the Warriors as a part-time assistant on the staff led by head coach Steve Kerr, league sources confirmed to CSNBayArea.com on Tuesday.”"
With both these reports in mind, it looks like it’s only a short matter of time until Steve Nash joins the Warriors’ elite group of guards to mentor them with his elite knowledge of running an offense.
On top of the media reports, reigning MVP Stephen Curry himself has also made a perfect remark on the potential hiring via Instagram:
https://instagram.com/p/7sj6IaTfWe/
Whilst we know that All-Stars such as Curry and Klay Thompson, to Finals MVP Andre Iguodala and valuable role players like Shaun Livingston all operate to great effect with the Warriors, there’s no doubt that some coaching assistance from Steve Nash can help them even further.
With Curry, for example, one of the few weaknesses in his game is turnovers. Occasionally he has over-dribbled or not made the best pass possible when a set play breaks down, leading to unnecessary turnovers at times. He continued to correct that problem even further last season, though, but there’s still always room for improvement. Especially when you can have an all-time great and the player who ranks 3rd in NBA history in total assists with Steve Nash.
On top of that, Nash also recorded a ridiculous assist percentage through his career of 41.5, which speaks volumes about his knowledge of making the right pass and executing everything from killer pick-and-rolls to electrifying passes around his opponents.
In short, the talent is still here, Kerr can only improve as he gains more coaching time, and Nash can add even more experience and knowledge to a team that only has minor weaknesses at best.
It looks like Golden State’s recipe for success may have just got even sweeter.
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