The Brooklyn Nets have fired coach Jacque Vaughn after a 21-33 start to the season, the team announced Monday. Vaughn has coached the Nets for 129 games in this current stint, leading the team to a 64-65 record.
Heading into the All-Star break, the Nets are in 11th place in the East. They rank 21st in points scored and 16th in points allowed per game.
Vaughn, a former Nets assistant coach, was promoted to interim head coach on November 1, 2022 after the team parted ways with Steve Nash. He was named permanent coach about a week later and then signed a multi-year contract extension on February 21, 2023.
From November 1 to February 21, Vaughn led the Nets to the fifth-best record in the league, including a 12-1 record in December 2022. However, at the end of the season, the team traded All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will begin a rebuilding phase around newly acquired forward Mikal Bridges.
Vaughn previously coached the Nets for 10 games as interim coach in 2020 after Kenny Atkinson left midway through the season.
This is Vaughn's second February release in his career, as he was relieved of his duties by the Orlando Magic on February 5, 2015. Vaughn had coached Orlando the previous two years, compiling a 58-158 record.
Vaughn began his coaching career with the San Antonio Spurs and joined Gregg Popovich's staff as an assistant coach in 2010. Vaughn ended his playing career with the Spurs in 2009, capping a 12-year career that previously included stints with the Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Magic and Nets.
Why fire him now?
The timing of Vaughn's firing is certainly a surprise. Objectively speaking, the Nets are not having a bad season. They're just 2.5 games behind the Hawks for the No. 10 seed, putting the play-in tournament in sight in a year where they've tried to find a new balance. But the Nets are still a bit undecided. They have lost 18 of their last 24 games since being at .500 on December 26th. Vaughn's appeal in the locker room may also have waned. He has lost favor with some players, league sources said.
Now the Nets will have their third head coach in 17 months, and the organization has yet to name an interim coach. They hired Kevin Ollie and Will Weaver this offseason. Ollie won a national championship as head coach at UConn. Weaver has been a head coach in Australia and France and has interviewed for NBA head coaching jobs; As coach of the Long Island Nets, he was named G League Coach of the Year. — Mike Vorkunov, NBA national business reporter
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