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After reportedly demanding the organization fire both head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks during offseason conversations with Nets ownership, superstar forward Kevin Durant said he was “shocked” to learn the team dismissed Nash Tuesday afternoon.
“You’re always shocked when a move like this happens, but it’s normal in the NBA, so it’s about getting ready for the game tonight,” Durant said after the Nets loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. “It’s a quick turnaround always in the league especially during the season. We’ve got practice and games coming up, so you can’t think too much about it. But it was on my mind for a little bit today.”
Durant corroborated Marks’ account — that there was no conversation between the front office and star players before the decision was made.
“Let’s be real: We’re pros. We’re veterans,” he said. “We had a tough start and a rocky year last year, rocky summer. We knew that everybody was being evaluated. That’s just how it is in the league.
“So I liked working with Steve. I liked working with the coaching staff. It was a roller coaster last few years, but the core of it — basketball — is something that we all love to do. So regardless of the coach, regardless of the circumstances, you still gotta come to work. So I enjoyed coming to work with Steve.”
Durant said there was “a lot of stuff” factoring into Nash’s lack of sustainable success in Brooklyn.
“We didn’t have a healthy team [and] just didn’t play well, and that’s what happens in the league,” he said. “S–-t happens. So that doesn’t take away from Steve’s basketball IQ, how he teaches the game. I don’t think that takes away from anything. It just didn’t work out.”
GET USED TO TURNOVERS
Durant turned the ball over six times in the Nets’ loss to the Bulls, including two bad passes in the final three-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.
He said the way opposing teams are defending him will make turnovers the norm.
“Every night I’m gonna be guarded by five players,” said Durant. “So I’m gonna turn the ball over. I’m trying to be aggressive, trying to create stuff. Their whole team’s gonna guard me throughout the whole season, so get used to my turnovers.”
HERE TODAY, GONE WHEN?
Interim Nets coach Jacque Vaughn says he is unsure how long he’ll be at the helm in the aftermath of Nash’s dismissal.
“[Nets GM Sean Marks] will tell me,” Vaughn said after the Nets dropped to 2-6 and blew a 12-point lead in their 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. “I just lace ‘em up, put on my shoes every day, do my job.”
When asked if he’s coaching Friday, Vaughn said: “I coached today. It’ll be [an] off-day tomorrow, and Sean will let me know.”
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