Warriors Show Selflessness with Steve Nash Hiring
By Eric He
One of Bob Myers’ favorite John Wooden quotes is, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.”
By extension, that’s the mantra the Golden State Warriors live by as well. No one — whether it be a player, coach, employee, or intern — is above anyone else. Everyone is open to criticism. Everyone is open to improvements. Everyone is doing right for the sake of the team, and credit and recognition comes secondary.
Sounds cliché — cringe worthily cliché — but how many teams actually embody that quote?
By inking Steve Nash as a part-time consultant, per reports on Tuesday, the Warriors continue to be the epitome of a selfless organization — always looking for improvements, no matter the source or the method.
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It’s funny because of all the teams in the NBA, the Warriors probably need Nash the least. Golden State is already a juggernaut at shooting the basketball, with two of the top sharpshooters in the league and a barrage of depth players who also shoot at a high percentage. The Warriors don’t need help with passing the ball either, given their league-leading 27.4 assists per game last season, nor do they need to improve their pace of play (of course, they led the league with 100.7 possessions per game).
Thus, the Warriors are already elite in essentially all facets of the game that Nash caters to — shooting, passing, and fast-tempo offense. They do it just as well — if not better — than the “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns in the Mike D’Antoni era. Their offensive system is nearly perfect to a tee, flawless with continuous ball movement and impeccable spacing.
But still, the Warriors want to be better, know they can be better. So they pleaded with and ultimately persuaded Nash to come aboard. Form Marc Stein’s report on ESPN:
"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.Kerr, Welts and current Warriors player development coach Bruce Fraser — all of whom worked closely with the 41-year-old Nash when he was playing in Phoenix — are among Nash’s closest friends in the league and ultimately persuaded him to consider joining the NBA reigning champions as a part-timer."
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.” It would be very easy for Kerr and his coaching staff to claim all the credit for the Warriors’ success, sit back with confidence and get ready for next season with no changes or upgrades. But it takes an extremely selfless group to look in the mirror and wonder how a championship-caliber staff can get even better.
That’s what the Warriors did, going straight to one of the best shooters and point guards in NBA history and luring him to join their team. Do you think that Mark Jackson — who intentionally hired weak assistant coaches and didn’t believe in giving his staff an ounce of credit — would have even thought of approaching Nash at any point of his tenure?
That’s a rhetorical question if there is one. It is so refreshing to have a coaching staff and management that are truly selfless and will make any move necessary to improve the team — even if that move is convincing a renowned shooting expert to help a team that is already the best in the league at shooting.