The turmoil surrounding the Brooklyn Nets has been turbulent for the past year.
With the latest announcement, the team may be headed towards some much-needed stability for the borough of Brooklyn. The NBA team recently announced that Jacque Vaughn will take over the reins as head coach for the Brooklyn Nets.
According to NBA.com, Vaughn has been hired to replace the just-fired coach Steve Nash. Vaughn initially took over on an interim basis immediately after Nash’s termination and has now officially been handed the title of head coach.
The development took place after the team flirted with the idea of bringing on suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. Before the Celtics, Udoka was an assistant coach on Nash’s staff in Brooklyn.
“We’re ecstatic that he’s going to remain our head coach,” said general manager Sean Marks in a written statement.
“There’s a number of factors why JV [Jacque
Vaugh] was the right choice. Obviously, I’ve known JV for a long time, and all of us have. He’s been a part of this culture. He’s been a part of what we’ve been building here over the years. When we look at the person he is, we look at his connection with players. I obviously look at what’s happened over the last four games, but it’s not entirely that’s what we’re looking at.”“We’re looking at the big picture and having a relationship with him for seven years and his connection to players.”
“His competitive spirit, a lot of that goes a long way and we’ve seen how this team, to be quite frank, has responded to him lately.”
Vaughn has been a part of the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff for seven years, once stepping up to the head coaching role during the 2019-20 season when the Nets parted ways with Kenny Atkinson
. He took over when the pandemic cut the season short and when it picked back up again; he led the team to a five-three record and into the playoffs.Vaugh played with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. He also had stints playing for the Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, and the New Jersey Nets before his move to Brooklyn, N.Y.