Since parting ways with former Head Coach Steve Nash, the Brooklyn Nets had gone 2-2 under interim bench boss Jacque Vaughn. On Wednesday the club removed the interim tag from Vaughn’s title, and the club responded with a 112-85 victory over the New York Knicks.
But it was far from a simple process, as the Nets were reported to have been deep into negotiations with suspended Celtics Head Coach Ime Udoka to take over the role from Nash. Udoka, who is currently sitting out the 2022-23 season for violating team personal conduct policies, was a former Nets assistant coach and was widely assumed to be the frontrunner for the position.
However, following a media circus over the past year stemming from Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status, Ben Simmons health, Kevin Durant’s trade request, more off-court drama from Kyrie, and Nash’s departure, the Nets opted for a less dramatic choice when it came to their next head coach.
The former 1st round draft pick is no stranger to NBA circles. Following a 12 year playing career, which included an NBA championship in 2007 with the Spurs, Vaughn immediately entered the coaching ranks, joining Gregg Popovich as an assistant in 2010.
After 2 years of tutelage under “Pop”, Vaughn was named head coach of the Orlando Magic in 2012, where he would post a 58-158 record before being ousted in 2015. He then joined the Nets franchise in 2016 where he’s been an assistant coach for the past seven campaigns.
Vaughn briefly acted as interim head coach back in 2020 replacing Kenny Atkinson, where he went 7-3 and helped guide the Nets to the Disney World “bubble” playoffs. Former All-Star Steve Nash was then hired as Atkinson’s successor, but elected to keep Vaughn on as an assistant. When Nash left, the Nets kicked the tires on a few potential replacements, but ultimately opted to keep things in house and elevate the 47 year old to head coach on a permanent basis.
“Over the course of this last week, these last sort of four games, it became evident that we didn’t need to look elsewhere,” general manager Sean Marks said. “Like all other searches, all I can tell you is there was an exhaustive search and we went through candidates and we’ll leave it at that.”
Whether he was their first choice, or last choice didn’t appear to matter much to Vaughn who quipped “I guess I was, what is that, the write-in candidate in the minds of the elections right now, but I’m OK with that,” Vaughn joked. “I said to my wife, I might have not been her first choice and we’ve been together 20 years, so it can all work out. So, off we go.”
Following their dismantling of the crosstown rival Knicks on Wednesday, the mood was certainly better in the Nets locker room with one less distraction surrounding the team.
For now, Udoka will continue to serve his suspension with the Celtics as Joe Mazzulla continues to coach in his absence. Meanwhile Vaughn and the Nets will take on the Clippers in LA on Saturday as they open up a 4 game west coast road trip.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner