Steve Nash and 10 Active NBA Players Who Will Make Great Head Coaches

The NBA GM survey had an interesting question in regards to which active player they thought would make the best head coach someday.

Some of the results were right on the money. There were some players who were inexplicable to me. Then there were others that were omitted that I was surprised to not see. 

I got to considering the question, what the job entails and started putting together a list of my own. The criteria I included were basketball IQ, work ethic and leadership ability. 

Let me say off the bat that I didn't include Kobe Bryant after much consideration. Certainly he's one of the smartest players in the game right now, but I'm not sure his personality translates well into being a head coach. 

I see the problems that Michael Jordan has in that regard as being the same things that would hinder Bryant. He would simply be too demanding of his players to make an effective head coach. Those who demand so much of themselves expect the same commitment from others

Here are the top 10 active players who will be the best head coaches someday. 

Ray Allen

Ray Allen has the most essential thing: work ethic. He is generally regarded as the hardest-working player in the league and is always the first one to arrive at the gym. His work ethic is legendary. 

He's also played under some great coaches and assistants in George Karl (though they did butt heads), Nate McMillan, Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau. That's enough to give a player some serious appreciation for the X's and O's of the game. 

Those two things combined with his high basketball IQ would make Allen an outstanding head coach. 

Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd's grasp of the game is legendary. He's one of the truly elite point guard the game has ever seen and it's his basketball intelligence that has been the chief reason why. 

He keeps his eyes up when he plays. He studies film and the game. He's not the greatest dribbler, the quickest to the rim or the sharpest passer, but he's a very smart player and he choreographs on the court. That's how he's gotten so many assists in his career.

Kidd's legendary status as the second-greatest distributor in the history of the game earns him tremendous respect from any future players. 

Shane Battier

Shane Battier is a player who has made a career out of being a glue guy. Glue guys are the ones who have a real appreciation of the nuances of the game. Subtleties of the game don't slip past a guy like Battier. 

I see him as the type of player who would make a great head coach because he'd see the little things. He'd be able to develop young talent by helping them to learn the "right way" of doing things. 

Grant Hill

Grant Hill exploded onto the NBA scene as one of the greatest offensive talents the game had ever seen but he was robbed, as were we, of the best he had to offer when a series of ankle injuries slowed him down. 

Then Hill had to reinvent himself as a player who had excellent defense and who played "smart." He became a discerning offensive player who picked his opportunities offensively and could be relied upon defensively. 

His grasp of the game on both sides of the court make him a commendable candidate for a future head coach. 

Chris Paul

Is it just me or does it look like Chris Paul is actually coaching Vinny Del Negro here? 

Paul would make a great head coach because in many ways he already is one. He is constantly coaching. Whether it's on the way to the sideline, at the sideline or even during play, you seem constantly advising the young players around him. 

For Paul, it's really just a matter of extending what he's already doing. 

Brian Scalabrine

Before you think this is a joke, it is absolutely not one. Brian Scalabrine has made an NBA career out of being a veritable player-coach. He's not on the team because of all the wonderful basketball he brings; he's there because of what he brings to a practice. 

He's been a huge reason for the Chicago Bulls' success, and I would not at all be surprised to see him pick up an assistant coaching job with them when he retires. 

We tend to look at the great players when we look at head coaches, but when we look at the great head coaches, most were not great players. Scalabrine could easily be the best coach playing today. 

Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Billups has been another player who has been a coach on the court. He's also had the benefit of playing with several different kinds of coaches with different philosophies of the game and mastered them all. 

He's played under Larry Brown's regimented system, George Karl's free-flowing system and Mike D'Antoni's fast-running system. He knows what it takes to win a championship. He's also a great two-way player with a real appreciation for the importance of defense. 

Billups was tied for second in the GM survey and it's easy to see why. He will be a great head coach someday if he chooses to go in that direction. 

Tim Duncan

To me the most notable absence on the list was Tim Duncan. I don't see how he could not be viewed as a potential head coaching candidate. 

Clearly he has an appreciation for the fundamentals of the game. He's called the Big Fundamental for a reason. He also has spent his career under the coach named as the best coach, the best motivator and the best at in-game adjustments, Gregg Popovich. 

Remember that he also has an honors degree in psychology. Duncan is an intellectual. If there is a Phil Jackson lurking in the NBA, it's Tim Duncan.  

Derek Fisher

Derek Fisher finished the survey first, and it comes as no surprise. His five championship rings, his experience as the head of the players union and his years of playing under Phil Jackson and learning the triangle offense give him a combination of experiences that work together for an outstanding future head coach. 

Fisher has not survived this long in the NBA because of his tremendous basketball talent. If that's all he were relying on he would have long ago been washed out of the league. It's what's between his ears that has kept him employed. 

His experience combined with his capacity bode well. 

Steve Nash

I think of all the players playing right now Steve Nash would be the best head coach. His intelligence in matters both on and off the court are universally agreed upon. He's an extremely sharp man with an acute grasp of the game. 

It's not just that to me, though. It's that extra bit of charisma. It's that contagious personality. There's something about Nash that is sort of mesmerizing.

I once heard a friend say that the test of leadership is who follows. Nash has that ability to make people want to follow him. If he doesn't go into politics (which is not something that would surprise me at all), he would make an amazing head coach.