The Brooklyn Nets decided to fire head coach Jacque Vaughn during All-Star Break, hoping to figure out the immediate future of the team before making a push for contention once again next season. Many expected Vaughn to help the Nets be competitive this season as the team doesn’t own its 2024 draft pick, but it’s gone sideways for the 21-33 franchise.
Shams Charania revealed what went on behind the decision-making, including players losing faith in his offense.
“Jacque Vaughn, fired by the Brooklyn Nets. He signed a multi-year contract extension last February. He lost by 50 points before the All-Star break to the Celtics. This team has been dreadful since the new year and hasn’t been able to win games consistently. Multiple players, including Spencer Dinwiddie, who’s left, and Mikal Bridges, have been vocal behind the scenes for months now. They felt like a lot of what Jacque Vaughn was running was being run improperly and without structure.”
Vaughn also hoped to utilize Ben Simmons in a featured role, which didn’t work as Simmons has had another injury-riddled season.
“When they went into training camp, a lot of their offense was built around Ben Simmons playing the one and at a high level. Throughout the season, he’s been unavailable. This is the third coach since 2016 to be fired under Sean Marks… The Nets have a lot of questions, who’s going to be the interim, who’s going to be the long-term head coach.”
"Jacque Vaughn, fired by the Brooklyn Nets…The Nets have a lot of questions, who's going to be the interim, who's going to be the long term head coach."@ShamsCharania on the Nets firing Jacque Vaughn.
📺: https://t.co/qYBPWhYgh7 pic.twitter.com/ZTD9oGYAxe
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 19, 2024
Vaughn was an uninspiring choice for head coach since the day he was appointed in 2022 after Steve Nash’s firing. He had served as the Nets’ interim coach every time someone got sacked by Sean Marks, which ultimately led to him getting the job full-time.
The Nets are considering assistant coach Kevin Ollie as the next man for the job, but he likely sees the season out as the interim head coach as Brooklyn finalizes who they want as their long-term option in that role to build a contender around Mikal Bridges.
Jacque Vaughn Was Out Of His League
Many expected Vaughn to be quickly replaced in Brooklyn in 2022 as they still had Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the time. Ime Udoka was widely rumored to be next, but controversies around him meant the Nets needed to move on to a full-time coach and gave Vaughn the job. He did a decent job with KD and Kyrie but has struggled without them. He had an 18-2 run with the pair healthy, but things unraveled after injuries and trade requests blew up their season.
The Nets ended last season with a 13-18 run from February onwards, getting swept in the first round of the playoffs. They look like lottery fodder this season, so it’s not surprising to see Vaughn be given his marching orders. He tried his best to bring a new culture to a Nets squad scarred by their poor experience with superstars in the years prior. The culture is different, but it’s not better.
Vaughn was repeatedly criticized for holding back the likes of Cam Thomas, as the young guard will be salivating for a greater opportunity under a new coach. Relying on Ben Simmons was another wild idea by Vaughn that didn’t work out. The new coach has a big cleanup job on his hands to help this team be a top-six contender in the East.
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