Newly hired Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez is filling out his staff after joining the team earlier this week. He added a high-profile name on Friday, with former Michigan head coach Juwan Howard set to join Brooklyn's bench, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Howard comes to the Nets after a five-year stint as the University of Michigan's head coach. He led the Wolverines to a 23-5 record and a Big Ten title in 2021, after which the Associated Press named him College Basketball's Coach of the Year.
Following that success, several NBA teams approached Howard for head-coach openings, but he opted to remain at Michigan to coach his sons, according to Wojnarowski. He missed the tournament in 2023, and the program let him go after an 8-24 campaign last season.
Juwan Howard comes back to NBA with Nets
Before joining Michigan, Howard spent six years as an assistant for the Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra. He also played 22 seasons in the NBA, earning one All-Star appearance and one third-team All-NBA selection.
Howard joins Steve Hetzel as Fernandez's first two assistant coaching hires. Hetzel served as a player development coach for the Detroit Pistons from 2009 to 2013. He then worked under Steve Clifford as an assistant for the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic before joining Chauncey Billups' staff with the Portland Trail Blazers for the last two seasons.
Fernandez joins the Nets after they fired Jacque Vaughn at this year's All-Star break. Vaughn had spent last offseason assembling his staff after replacing Steve Nash during the 2022-23 season. Among those names was former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie, who Brooklyn promoted to interim head coach after Vaughn's dismissal.
Following Fernandez's introductory press conference on Wednesday, general manager Sean Marks said new coaching hires are in the works, and it's still to be determined whether any of last year's assistants will return.
“For a guy like Jordi, he has to be able to look at himself and say, ‘Okay, what do I need? Where are my faults? Where am I not quite up to speed here? Does that mean I need an ex-head coach on my staff?' If so, great,” Marks said. “If not, then I need to focus on player development.”
“I don't think we should count out the fact that he has actually sat in that seat 18 inches over [from head coach] a couple of times,” Marks continued. “So, he's had enough time behind the clipboard and there's always time for improvement with all of us. The more experience he gets, it'll be better for them.”
Fernandez, who served as associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings for the last two seasons, will return as head coach of the Canadian national team at the Olympics this summer after leading them to a Bronze medal in the FIBA World Cup last year.
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