It will always be a big deal — no one knows it better right now than Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee’s under-fire head coach — and it will almost certainly rank as Steve Nash’s biggest weakness as a rookie coach with the Nets next season. It’s the Larry Bird Model that crystallized 20 years ago, when Bird helped steer the Indiana Pacers into the 2000 N.B.A. finals as an unseasoned head coach with top-shelf offensive (Rick Carlisle) and defensive coordinators (Dick Harter) flanking him. Yet when Nash landed the Nets’ job last week, another relationship came into focus: Nash’s ties to Nets General Manager Sean Marks. Nash and Marks have known each other for more than 20 years, starting out as international basketball rivals representing Canada and New Zealand.

Source: New York Times September 09, 2020 00:33 UTC