How Steve Nash's 'special relationship' with Kevin Durant, communication skills will be crucial as Nets head coach

A few days before he officially became coach of the Nets, Steve Nash was walking in Brooklyn with his family. During the stroll, Nash called Bruce Fraser, a close friend and Warriors assistant, to share the news.

Fraser’s reaction?

“I was shocked,” he said.

So was most of the rest of the NBA.

Nash, a Hall of Fame point guard, will be introduced as the Nets next head coach during a press conference on Wednesday. He’ll probably field questions about his lack of experience (Nash has never coached before) and the challenges of taking over a team with title expectations.

Those are all topics people around the league wondered about in the wake of Nash’s hiring.

“There’s obviously a lot of risk here,” one NBA assistant coach said.

But there’s also a lot of potential upside. Nash has a strong relationship with Nets star Kevin Durant. He knows the game as well as anyone on the planet. And he’s an excellent communicator.

Those are all crucial elements to coaching in today’s NBA.

And Fraser saw those elements in Nash regularly over the past decade. As a scout with the Suns, Fraser worked out with Nash regularly in the offseason. Later, with Golden State, Fraser worked closely with Nash during the Hall of Fame guard’s stint as a consultant for Golden State.

So Fraser’s thoughts on Nash’s next career move are informed by thousands of hours of observation. And he thinks the Nets made the right call.

“If I was a betting man,” Fraser says, “I would say that Steve Nash and the Brooklyn Nets will be successful.”

Below, Fraser talks to SNY about Nash’s communication skills, his relationship with Durant and the hurdles he may face in his first year as an NBA head coach:

ON NASH AND DURANT:

One widely accepted rule for coaching in the modern NBA: You need to have a strong working relationship with your star player(s). Nash will have that before he steps foot on the sideline in Brooklyn.

He has a close relationship with Durant, one that was solidified during his five-year tenure as a Warriors consultant. When Durant joined Golden State, he was transitioning into the middle stages of his career. Nash, who played 18 years in the NBA, noticed between-game changes Durant could make that could improve his energy over the grind of a season.

One was shortening the amount of time he worked between games. Smaller windows on the court, at a higher exertion.

“To credit Kevin, it wasn’t like he had to increase the exertion that much because he goes hard,” Fraser said. “He’s one of the most impressive guys you’ll see working out. He’s efficient. His energy’s high and he’s focused. He’s a worker.

“So to have him switch gears and go into something that might be shorter to me was telling of what his trust and confidence in Nash was.”

Another change Nash suggested? Coming to the arena closer to game time. Traditionally, Durant had been one of the first players to arrive at the arena on game days. “He loved to get on the floor by himself, have his space and get his work in,” Fraser said.

Nash suggested that Durant get to the arena later to conserve his energy.

“Kevin bought in to it and I think it was really good for him,” Fraser said. “….There was a lot of Nash in what Kevin decided to do.”

Fraser points out that the details of Nash’s suggestions are important, but it’s equally important that Durant trusted Nash enough to implement those suggestions.

“That’s pretty telling because Kevin didn’t need to change anything,” Fraser said. “(He’s) arguably the best player of the world…. But he was confident enough in Nash’s ideas that he made a lot of changes.

“I think that was really valuable and I think it really showed the trust and confidence that Kevin had in Nash. It also showed Nash’s ability to not be afraid to speak on things that he believed in that would benefit a player even though the player was successful with what he was doing.”

From Fraser’s view, Durant didn’t buy in to Nash’s suggestions solely because of Nash’s stature in the game.

“Kevin doesn’t take advice from everyone. They established a human connection, a level of trust, along the way. I don’t know when that started but I could see it very clearly in the summer (of 2016) that Nash and he and I would work together. I could see the level of trust and the friendship up close. I don’t think that was all of a sudden a snap of a finger, and we’re friends. Kevin is a really good spirit who doesn’t just acquire people to acquire them. He and Nash have a special relationship and a level of trust that’s higher than most have.”

Nash’s relationship with Durant will obviously help him as Nets head coach. So will his relationship with Brooklyn GM Sean Marks.

But Fraser says Nash has other innate abilities that will help him in his transition.

ON NASH’S FEEL FOR EMOTIONS OF PLAYERS/COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

Sometimes, Fraser would have to prod Nash to speak up during his time in Golden State.

“He’s a humble guy with a lot of knowledge, so he was hesitant at times to step out of his lane with us,” Fraser said.

When he spoke up, Nash would offer insight on a range of topics.

“He was really good with (giving) Steve Kerr suggestions with strategy (on how best to approach) messaging players or where he felt guys were emotionally,” Fraser said. “And he was really critical in the playoffs from (the) strategic side for the coaching staff; that’s where he decided to speak more.

“Sitting in those (meeting) rooms, when asked, he was always very, very helpful with his thoughts.”

Obviously, Nash’s thoughts and suggestions will take on a greater weight in Brooklyn. If his ideas are effective and he can communicate them to his players, things should work out well. But Nash will have to learn on the fly in his first season on the bench. And the Nets will be expected to compete for a title. So there is ample reason to be skeptical about the Nash-Nets pairing.

Fraser believes Nash can handle the adjustments. He saw Kerr make the same transition in his first season in Golden State

“The hard part of (getting acclimated as a head coach) is within Nash. It’s the knowledge and the experience and what he pulls from (different coaches) and the ability to make adjustments and see things,” Fraser said. “I think what Steve (Kerr) needed the most help with, initially, was sort of managing the game -- which is not easy. But it’s probably the easier of the knowledge of the game or managing the game.

“I think Steve (Nash) will be great with the communication with the players and his relationships and I think he’ll be great with implementing things that he thinks will benefit the team. I don’t think the management of the game will be hard for him. But I think a trusted source that he brings along with him that has been in that seat – I’m guessing he’ll hire someone like that – will be really helpful. That’s what he’ll need. He’ll need a really good staff (of assistant coaches) around him that supports what he doesn’t have yet (in terms of experience).”

Jacque Vaughn will be Nash’s associate head coach. The rest of the staff is unknown, but it’s fair to assume that Adam Harrington will stay with the Nets as an assistant.

NASH’S RELATIONSHIP WITH KYRIE:

Nash’s relationship with Durant is well-known. He told The Undefeated that he also knows Kyrie Irving well.

“Ky and I have history, not only being two point guards, but he is one of my favorite players to watch," Nash said in an interview with the website. "He and I spent a couple days in the gym, I believe it was 2015, in New York City working out. There is a respect and admiration there for me." 

It’s fair to assume that Nash’s ability to connect with – and coach – Irving will be a significant factor in how well the Nets do over the next few seasons.

Fraser notes that Nash’s connection to all of the Nets will be important, and “Kyrie would be at the top of the list. Because he’s that talented, he’s a star, he’s going to be a critical piece of the success of it all.

“That’s one of the things that made Steve Kerr successful – his ability to communicate and relate to the players and sort of understand where they were coming from. Nash is really good at that. And the fact that Nash and Kyrie are both point guards, I think Nash will be helpful in the way Kyrie sees things.

“(Nash) was really good with Steph (Curry) in those ways with thoughts on how he might attack a player or a situation. And sometimes I saw the light bulb go on in Steph’s head like, ‘Hmm, never thought of that.’ Just the fact that Nash can bring a different lens is good (for Irving)…. Kyrie doesn’t have to believe in (everything Nash suggests). Because Nash isn’t going to force those thoughts (on Irving). But who wouldn’t want to have a resource like that as your head coach?”