NBA News: Shaq explains why Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving don't respect Steve Nash

The Brooklyn Nets may have won a battle, but they could still lose the war. They held their ground and didn’t trade Kevin Durant, but having him and Kyrie Irving back in the locker room may not be the best-case scenario for them.

Irving and Durant clearly don’t like or respect Steve Nash. It’s been that way since Kyrie claimed that ‘everybody could be a coach’ on that team, and it became more evident when KD literally told the Nets to fire him.

The chances of those ego-driven stars changing their minds about their Hall of Famer coach are quite slim. So, when asked about why they have so much trouble respecting Nash, Shaquille O’Neal had an interesting point.

Shaq Says Kyrie And KD Don’t Respect Nash Because They Make More Money Than Him

“Before I answer the question, I’m gonna tell you a little story. A guy asked me the other day, ‘you ever think about coaching?’ And the answer is no. He said ‘why?’ ‘When a guy makes 20 times more than you, it’s gonna be hard for them to respect you.’ It shows that they don’t respect him,” Shaq told GQ.

“All the ‘I want him gone, I want him gone,’ and then to come back and say we worked it out, nah, it ain’t that easy. As adults, we can have a heart-to-heart, we can iron it out. But it’s still right here,” Shaq added.

“So when things don’t go right, they’re gonna blame it on him. So, he’s gonna have to demand their respect. As a player, if you know you were better than a former player who’s now a coach, it’s gonna be hard for you to, in tough situations, listen to him. So, it’s gonna be tough. I know the coaches I played for, they put their foot down. Sometimes you got to put your foot down, even if the player makes a $50 million, you got to put your foot down, especially if they ain’t gonna step up, anyway,” the Big Diesel concluded.

Shaq could be right on point here. Durant has constantly taken shots at former players who criticize him by saying that they’re just jealous of him for making more money. He’s also referred to himself as a God, so he may not like to be coached at all.

Steve Nash didn’t look like a good coach by any means, but it happens. It’s still early to judge him. But whatever’s the case, he’s still their boss and should be treated as such. Now, whether that’ll happen or not, that’s a whole different story.