Mere hours earlier than a nationally televised matchup towards the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets opted for a semblance of stability, or a minimum of a secure shoulder to lean on, once they eliminated the interim tag from assistant coach Jacque Vaughn’s title.
Whoever is interviewing for the Nets open P.R. coordinator place simply launched a sigh of reduction that they received’t should reply for the Ime Udoka rent that appeared imminent every week in the past.
The moxie it might have taken to walk Ime Udoka by way of the doorways to face the ravenous New York media and anticipate the main target to be on basketball would have required some Simone Biles-grade gymnastics. Udoka’s negotiations with the Nets might have reached an deadlock when cooler heads started convincing proprietor Joseph Tsai to keep away from the unreal drama and simply follow Vaughn.
Promoting Udoka in 2020 or early 2021, when he was on the Nets employees, would have been a very good look. Hiring an argument magnet who was Eric Benet-ing his approach out of the Celtics job merely two months after he was suspended for the season by Boston’s Human Resources Department was horrible optics.
In 2022, Udoka was an excessive amount of for this staff to shoulder. Every press convention within the first few weeks can be a recreation of 21 questions on his improper relationship with a Celtics employees member. In Vaughn, the Nets have a head coach who, like Udoka, labored his approach from NBA journeyman to assistant. If something, Vaughn’s hiring earns them the constructive press they badly want. Not solely did the franchise fireplace the NBA’s final white North American celebrity in Steve Nash, to think about changing him with a Black coach engulfed in scandal, however they thought higher of it, and promoted a deserving, scandal-free minority coach.
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And Vaughn is aware of somewhat one thing about rebounding from tough begins. In 2001, he began the common season lacking an NBA document 22 consecutive photographs and had the TNT crew of Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith praying for his shot to lastly fall. He wound up capturing a career-high 47 p.c from the sphere that season.
Vaughn will want that form of resilience to steer Brooklyn again from the jagged rocks they’ve been dashing towards throughout their 2-5 begin. His course correction has been a short-term success, and the Nets’ downward spiral has seemingly slowed since his promotion. Which is all of the extra motive to maintain these good vibes going.
Vaughn’s capability to navigate by way of failure is emblematic of why superstars hardly ever make good coaches. As an lively participant, Vaughn was a no-frills, heady backup level guard. He’ll want that background and his familiarity within the locker room as a Nets assistant since 2016 to attach with Kyrie Irving in ways in which Steve Nash by no means may. Despite Nash being the coach that Durant signed off on after attending to know him whereas Nash was the Warriors’ participant improvement advisor, he then turned him right into a scapegoat over the summer time.
Ultimately, Irving’s insubordination was the final straw. According to what an nameless advance scout mentioned he witnessed throughout Nash’s closing loss, a contest towards the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29, Irving ignored Nash’s play calls almost a dozen occasions. Coupled with experiences that Irving would run practices after Nash left the power final season, it’s apparent that Vaughn’s prior expertise amid NBA struggles will probably be sorely wanted. On a superstar-laden roster, Vaughn is the scrappy skilled who has crawled by way of the muck simply to get this chance.
Like Udoka, Vaughn can even declare a sophisticated teaching diploma from the School of Gregg Popovich after spending two seasons on the Spurs employees earlier than accepting the Orlando Magic’s head teaching job. His first NBA head teaching alternative was a demise entice. After three seasons, he was relieved of his duties, however no person has received in Orlando since.
The Nets wanted a severe coach who can moonlight as their sherpa by way of tempestuous climate as an alternative of anchoring them within the eye of a hurricane they usually obtained one in Vaughn.