Steve Nash becomes the GM of Canadian National Basketball Team - NBA Update
Steve Nash is one of the most successful point guard and renowned philanthropist, and now he will also be the general manager of the senior men Canadian Basketball team.
Nash, who was the reason behind Canadian appearance in the 2000 Olympics, is in the twilight of his career. The Canadian native will be officially introduced to his new role on Tuesday and will be assisted by Rowan Barrett, his former national teammate.
During a news conference Nash explained his decision.
“Hopefully not to diminish my passion for the country and the sport, but I feel like now’s the time to capitalize, not just because of the immediate success we can have, [but the] impact [we can have on] the kids to go to the highest level they can.”
Nash is becoming a free agent this preseason and there has been a lot of sensation regarding his next contract.
Accepting the GM responsibility doesn’t necessarily means that he will be retiring any time soon. Nash has indicated that he will play for 2 or 3 more seasons before considering retirement.
Taking care of the business while practically being in States will be a demanding job however. His job will require him to put together a team that will compete in next summer World Cup and the Canadian Association will be hoping that Nash’s affiliation will help them gather more sponsors.
Canada Basketball president and CEO Wayne Parrish said that the program used to run on a $ 2 million budget over a 5 year period. But with Nash, they are envisaging to take it up to $ 6 million for the next 5 years.
“It’s amazing how powerful Steve getting on a conference call and him articulating a different form of vision that he talked about today, how galvanizing that is for these [donors],” Parish said.
Canada, despite having one franchise in NBA, had not been producing great basketball talent, but the emergence of Tristan Thompson (the number 4 draft pick Cleveland Cavaliers) and Cory Joseph (the 29th overall pick for San Antonio Spurs) the future prospects look bright. Under the aegis of Nash it can be expected that more Canadians will follow these two players into the NBA.
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