Nets: Kyrie Irving’s comments on head coach role are alarming
By Adam Weinrib
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving seems to think anyone can be the head coach. Except for maybe the guy hired to be the head coach?
Leave it to Nets star Kyrie Irving to take up the offseason, midway through the NBA Finals. Thanks, Kyrie!
We’ve given the ball-dominant point guard a lot of praise in recent weeks for being ahead of the curve on many of the issues that faced the NBA restart, including the dangers of isolation and the feeling that social justice efforts were being muted. Genuinely, Irving made many salient points that weren’t being discussed otherwise, and eventually came to a head.
But in terms of inter-personal quarrels within an NBA roster? Time and again, Irving hasn’t proven to be the best at managing personalities.
Which made it extra concerning when he appeared on Kevin Durant’s “The ETCs” podcast, and downplayed the importance of the head coaching role, claiming that both he and KD would be the head coach sometimes.
Kyrie Irving speaks on the coaching situation: "I don't really see us having a "head" coach. KD could be a head coach, I could be a head coach (some days)."
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) October 1, 2020
KD adds: "Jacque Vaughn could be a head coach could do it one day. It's a collaborative effort."
Oh, Jacque Vaughn might be, too? What…what about Steve Nash, the man hired to be the head coach? Will he get to be the head coach at any point?
In fairness, the two stars reportedly spoke about the respect they had for Nash repeatedly, a man who will be the first to admit he could use a boost during his first ever head coaching tenure.
But to downplay the role to this extent is concerning. This doesn’t sound like “help,” after all. It sounds like coopting the role, and taking over leadership from the team’s underbelly. We could all use some advice at times, but this throws the whole hierarchy out of wack, and gives a lot of cannon fodder to people who believe the stars really run the show, especially with a players’ coach installed.
Have to say between Spencer Dinwiddie saying head coaching now is 80% psychology and Kyrie saying they don’t need a coach who instills too many coaching philosophies this is going to be interesting.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) October 1, 2020
Hopefully, this was a slight misspeak, and Irving was just trying to discuss creating a comfortable environment for bouncing ideas off each other.
Did not sound like that, though! Sounds like there are about to be a lot of talking heads who fancy themselves the top banana in Brooklyn, if this is the type of content that’s produced when the team’s two figurehead stars get together in front of a microphone.
