Jacque Vaughn
The Brooklyn Nets have dismissed head coach Jacque Vaughn, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Sources: The Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn.
Vaughn served as the head coach of the Nets since the last season. Over the previous two season, the Nets had a record of 64-65. Last year the Nets finished with a record of 45-37, sixth place in the Eastern Conference. This season, at 21-33, the Nets sit at 11th place in the East, currently out of the playoff picture.
Vaughn’s stint leading Brooklyn comes to an end following two losses to the Boston Celtics. The first, on February 13, in which the Nets were defeated at home 118-110, the second a blowout loss on the road on February 14, where they fell to Boston 136-86.
Did Vaughn Lose the Player’s Faith?
Following the February 14 loss, Vaughn was asked if he wasn’t able to get through to the players. He responded by saying “I think it’s far from that. These guys haven’t played together. CJ [Cam Johnson], has never played with Dennis Schröder, and it goes down the line. Day’Ron [Sharpe] just being back. … Now there’s got to be a level of commitment we have to get things sped up, because these guys haven’t played together.’’
However, according to a February 19 report from SNY’s Ian Begley, several players had lost confidence in Vaughn after their recent struggles.
Begley wrote “The Nets announced Monday morning that they have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn, after several players had lost confidence in him amid Brooklyn’s struggles.”
He continued by adding that “some within the Nets had concerns that Vaughn could hinder their chances at landing a top player, said SNY sources.”
In a Tweet, Begley reported that the Nets would look to name an interim coach quickly. Listing assistant coaches Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver, Jay Hernandez, and Ronnie Burrell, among others, as potential options to take over for the time being.
Nets say they will name an interim head coach shortly. Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver, Jay Hernandez & Ronnie Burrell were added as assistants last summer. Adam Caporn, Trevor Hendry & Ryan Forehan-Kelly are also on staff. GM Sean Marks has hired 3 head coaches during 8-yr tenure.
Do the Nets Still Have Playoff Hopes?
Earlier the month, Mikal Bridges claimed he still had hopes for the Nets to reach the playoffs, saying “Just gotta be better. Not where we wanna be at right now. But obviously, there’s still a shot. Just gotta play better… but I do think so” when asked about the Nets’ chances of making the playoffs.
Mikal Bridges says he still thinks the Nets can make the playoffs:
“Just gotta be better. Not where we wanna be at right now. But obviously there’s still a shot. Just gotta play better”
However, following the blowout loss to the Celtics. Players began voicing their disappointment in how the season has gone so far.
Bridges, following the loss, said “Yeah, you’ve got to learn and fix the issue; that’s pretty much what it is. You can’t just let this one go and think ‘Oh, let it drop. Yeah, maybe if you lost towards the end, but you got beat by 50.”
Nic Claxton added “It’s been disappointing. The season has been pretty disappointing, if we’re just being honest.”
In some bright news for Nets fans, Brooklyn has the second-easiest schedule down the stretch of any team in the league. From here on out, they will face teams with a combined win percentage of .460, the second-worst behind the Orlando Magic who will face teams with a combined win percentage of .435.
The Nets next game will be February 22 against the Toronto Raptors.