The Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn following a 21-33 start to the season the club announced Monday morning. Currently sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, the Nets are fresh off a 50 point loss to Boston before the All-Star break and felt that a change in leadership was needed inside the locker room.
Vaughn famously replaced Steve Nash midseason two years ago after the former MVP couldn’t get on the same page as some of his star players. The 49 year old wasn’t expected to guide Brooklyn to a championship this year, however many around the league believed that the Nets were severely underperforming this season up to this point.
Brooklyn sits 2.5 games back of Atlanta for the final play-in tournament spot, and have dropped 5 of their last 6 contests. After starting the season 15-15, Brooklyn has since gone 6-18, tumbling down the standings as a result. The front office believed that the league’s All-Star break served as a good time to make a change on the sidelines.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” said Nets GM Sean Marks said in a statement. “Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years. The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure. We thank Jacque for all he has done for the Nets and the borough of Brooklyn, and wish him, Laura and their family nothing but the best in the future.”
Vaughn is the 3rd coaching casualty of the season following Washington’s Wes Unseld Jr., and Milwaukee’s Adrian Griffin who were previously relieved of their duties.
While an interim head coach has yet to be named, sources indicate that Nets assistant Kevin Ollie has emerged as a candidate to take over until a permanent head coach is named.
Ollie is a former NBA player who also spent time in the NCAA ranks with the UConn Huskies, before joining Overtime Elite and eventually the Nets franchise. A former Div 1 champion with UConn in 2014, Ollie is well respected within basketball circles, but is far from a lock to be the long term solution on the sidelines in Brooklyn.
With Vaughn’s firing, and the ongoing minutes restrictions on Ben Simmons, the Nets are a team that could go in a variety of directions down the stretch. Whether they choose to circle the wagons and hope for a Miami-esque run through the playoffs, or rest their starters in the hopes of acquiring a higher lottery pick remains to be seen.
The Nets are next in action on Thursday vs. the Toronto Raptors at 7pm ET.
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