NEW YORK — To start the 2015-16 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt and promoted lead assistant Tyronn Lue. Lue brought the Cavaliers’ locker room together and helped steer the franchise to the first NBA championship in its history that same season.
The Nets have decided to follow a similar blueprint: A week after dismissing head coach Steve Nash, the franchise named interim coach Jacque Vaughn as Nash’s official replacement.
This means suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is no longer in the cards to coach this Nets team as currently constructed.
Udoka was the runaway favorite to replace Nash after his Celtics swept the Nets out of the first round of the playoffs last season, but the off-court issue that got him suspended — coupled with the off-court drama that led to Kyrie Irving’s suspension — would have been too much controversy for the Nets to endure.
The organization decided on Vaughn, whose deal lasts through the 2023-24 NBA season, according to ESPN. It makes for one less uncertainty in a season that’s been full of them.
“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,” 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.”
The promotion was well-deserved for the interim coach, who has lit a fire beneath an underachieving Nets team.
Following a 2-5 start to the regular season under Nash, the Nets entered Wednesday’s rivalry game against the New York Knicks with a 4-7 record. They could have returned home winners of three straight road games had Kevin Durant not uncharacteristically missed a free throw in the closing seconds against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris said during Wednesday’s shootaround that there are “a lot of similarities” between what the Nets are running under Vaughn and what they ran under Nash.
“I think overall, it’s him trying to simplify the game plan,” Harris said. “Not trying to convolute anything, make sure everyone is fully aware of what their individual matchup is, understanding the personnel, and then keeping things relatively simple.”
This was Vaughn’s second opportunity to fill in for a dismissed head coach. He replaced Kenny Atkinson after the Nets fired him during the 2019-20 season and recorded a 7-3 record while leading Brooklyn to a first-round playoff appearance.
Harris is the only player remaining from that Bubble Nets team and said Vaughn’s coaching philosophy now is still “very similar” to what it was years ago.
“JV is a great coach. Having played in the NBA for a while, been a coach in the league for a while, having experience as head coach, having a lot of experience an assistant, he’s seen a lot,” said Harris. “He’s kind of fine-tuned what his approach is and he really just simplifies the game.
“He’s the kind of coach where you go through a (pregame) scout and there’s gonna be a lot of transparency and dialogue. It’s not just him speaking and hoping everybody understands.”
Vaughn’s promotion was met with a variety of responses when announced on social media.
Some Nets fans expressed frustration the organization decided against hiring Udoka, even though the Celtics suspended him following an NBA Finals run because of an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer. Former Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is also available after multiple Western Conference playoff runs.
Both own better coaching records than Vaughn, who amassed a 58-158 record during a three-year stint coaching a rebuilding Orlando Magic team.
“Dude [Vaughn] has a triple negative W/L record as a coach,” one fan tweeted. “This team is a joke blow it up already.”
“No intention to disrespect Vaughn, but why won’t you sign guys that are proved as good coaches like Udoka or Snyder?” another fan added. “Hopefully I’m wrong and we win everything, but I don’t think it’s what’s gonna happen.”
Others, like Zachary Robinson, expressed gratitude that Vaughn has legitimate coaching experience, which is an area Nash lacked before taking the Nets job.
“Before our last coach was a coach, he was a player,” said Robinson, a 29-year-old architect from downtown Brooklyn who has been a fan of the team since it relocated from New Jersey in 2012. “So this is s step forward.”
