The Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their new head coach, and they will try to surround him with exceptional coaching talent in his first season as an NBA coach.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, the Nets are considering two assistant coaches with ties to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Keefe was coaching in Oklahoma City when Kevin Durant was with the organization. He was with the Knicks during Derek Fisher’s tenure and coached in Los Angeles under Luke Walton. Keefe was Donovan’s top assistant in Oklahoma City.
Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy is also seen as a candidate for Nash’s staff by some people in the Nets organization, SNY sources confirm.Handy is close with Kyrie Irving. The Athletic first reported that Handy was one of the assistant coaches on Brooklyn’s radar.
Handy is participating in the NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers, having five consecutive appearances in championships runs through the last five seasons with Cleveland, Toronto and now the Lakers.
Brian Keefe has had two runs with Oklahoma, back in 2007-2015, leaving for the Lakers and then the Knicks before returning to the Thunder last year.
