The Brooklyn Nets named Jacque Vaughn as head coach Wednesday after reports indicated they intended to hire suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka.
Vaughn's new deal extends through the 2023-24 season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Jacque's basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball.”
Vaughn was in his seventh season as an assistant on Brooklyn's bench. The 47-year-old served as the team's interim head coach for 10 games during the 2019-20 season following the firing of Kenny Atkinson.
Brooklyn's pivot to Vaugh comes after widespread criticism of the team's plan to hire Udoka, who was suspended by the Celtics for having an improper relationship with a female staffer. Marc Stein reported Sunday that there were “strong voices” urging Nets owner Joe Tsai to back off his intention to hire the suspended coach.
Stein reported that Udoka was not only the preferred choice of Marks, but also Kevin Durant. Brooklyn's cooling off Udoka also comes amid a media circus surrounding the suspension of Kyrie Irving, one of several factors that played into the decision to hire Vaughn, according to Shams Charania.
“The Nets changed course from their initial plan to hire Udoka due to several factors,” Charania said. “These factors include an investigation and due diligence process by the Nets into the suspended coach taking longer than initially expected, the outcry after word of their plan became known to people outside and inside the organization, and the short- and long-term question marks around the team’s ability to contend in the Eastern Conference as a result of the indefinite suspension of Irving.”
The last factor looms large for a Brooklyn team in disarray just weeks into the season. The Nets came into the year in win-now mode off the heels of Durant's trade request this summer. However, the discourse surrounding the team has been about anything but basketball given the firing of Steve Nash and controversy surrounding Irving.
Brooklyn's five-game minimum suspension of Irving will expire on Nov. 13 at the earliest. The team outlined six steps the guard must complete before being eligible to return. Irving reportedly had a “productive and understanding” meeting with Adam Silver Tuesday. However, Stein reported just hours prior that the Nets may have crafted the list with knowledge Irving would not complete the tasks.
“There is growing pessimism in various corners of the league that Kyrie Irving will ever play for the Nets again,” Stein said. “There is a feeling among some close to the process, I’m told, that the list was crafted with the knowledge that Irving would be unlikely to complete all six and thus could conceivably subject himself to potential outright release.”
This marks the third consecutive year the Nets find themselves navigating a crisis with Irving at the center. For a team that refused to offer the unpredictable guard a long-term contract this summer, the start of this season likely secured his fate in Brooklyn.
This is one of several question marks on and off the court that position Brooklyn outside the circle of title contenders. Ben Simmons, the team’s supposed third star, has looked like a shell of his old self while returning from back surgery and dealing with knee soreness. Simmons has been extremely passive, averaging 5.6 points on just 5.3 shots per game. The first-year Net has already become “a source of frustration” for Durant and other teammates, according to Wojnarowski.
"Ben Simmons has been a source of frustration for Kevin Durant, for others on the Nets so far, because he's been unable to stay on the floor, but prior to that, he has shown that he's a long way away from being back to an impactful player."
– @wojespnpic.twitter.com/JFYO3LfDXf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 4, 2022
On top of this, Joe Harris and Seth Curry, Brooklyn’s top shooters and key pieces of the offense, look far from 100 percent as they return from offseason ankle surgeries.
The Nets are now left with a franchise-altering decision this season under Vaughn. They can trade Durant and move into a rebuild or see things through in hopes the team finally comes together.
Cutting bait altogether would likely land the Nets a top-10 pick in the 2023 draft. Houston owns the right to swap picks with Brooklyn this year, but the swap is unlikely to convey with the Rockets in another tank season. The Nets will likely reassess their position in the standings when over 30 percent of the league’s players become trade eligible on Dec. 15.
What already appeared to be an untenable situation heading into the season has reached new levels of dysfunction just 11 games in. And the developments of the past few days appear to be a signal of big changes on the horizon.
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