Jacque Vaughn took over for Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson just one week before the NBA had to suspend its 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vaughn only coached the Nets for two games, though he is set to resume his duties when the NBA returns this July in the Orlando bubble plan.
Now, while there are plenty of uncertainties about his future with the team, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium noted that he has a “legitimate opportunity” to be the full-time head coach of the team.
“This is a guy that comes from the Spurs background, has the same pedigree as [Nets general manager] Sean Marks,” Charania said of Jacque Vaughn on the Load Management podcast, per Tim Daniels in Bleacher Report. “As far as I know, he does a good job at working with players, building that relationship.”
Atkinson spent three-plus seasons on the sidelines for Brooklyn after a seven-year stint as an assistant for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. In his first year as the Nets head coach, Atkinson only went 20-62 as the franchise was rebuilding in the wake of a devastating trade with the Boston Celtics that left them strapped for assets.
By his third year, Atkinson and the Nets won 42 games and reached the playoffs, losing in five games in the first round.
While expectations turned sky high this past season with stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant joining the fold, the Nets did not exactly compete as well as before their arrival, leading to Atkinson leaving the team.
Atkinson is expected to interview for the Knicks vacancy at head coach, while Vaughn is one name to surface to take the Nets' one full time.
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