The Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn, per the team. No interim head coach has been named yet.
The Brooklyn Nets have relieved Jacque Vaughn of his head coaching duties. An interim head coach will be named in the near future.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 19, 2024
In his final game as the Nets’ head coach, the team lost by a whopping 50 points to the Boston Celtics heading into All-Star Weekend.
At the All-Star Break, the Nets are 21-33 and own the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference. A disappointing season so far for the Nets made Vaughn’s dismissal seem inevitable. Vaughn had been with the Nets organization as a coach since 2016. However, he has been the permanent head coach since replacing Steve Nash in November 2022. Vaughn coached the Nets for 129 games with a 64-65 record.
Following Vaughn’s firing, Sean Marks, the Nets’ GM, released a statement citing this as “an incredibly difficult decision“:
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” 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.”
Vaughn has extensive coaching experience, so it would not be the biggest surprise if he joined another team’s coaching staff in the near future.
NBA News: Brooklyn Nets Fire Jacque Vaughn
Why the Nets Fired Jacque Vaughn
Beyond the team having a disappointing record this far into the season, NBA reporter Ian Begley said the team “lost confidence in Vaughn“:
Nets say they have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn. Several players had lost confidence in Vaughn amid Nets’ struggles, per SNY sources. Some within Nets had concerns that Vaughn could hinder their chances at landing a top player, SNY sources say.
After the team’s loss to the Celtics last week, Mikal Bridges made his frustrations known:
“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.’ No,’’ Bridges said. “Yeah, maybe if you lost towards the end, but you got beat by 50. It’s not just, ‘Let it go.’ A lot of s— is not right, and you’ve got to fix it.”
Though he may not have meant Vaughn specifically, it is clear Bridges was unhappy with the team’s performance against Boston. A change needed to be made, and it starts with firing Vaughn.
Last Word on the Brooklyn Nets
The Nets do not return to action until this Thursday against the Toronto Raptors. Brooklyn will have some time to reset during the break and make a decision for their interim head coach. If the season ended today, the Nets would not have a spot in the playoffs. However, the Nets have a talented team and could realistically make a playoff push coming out of the All-Star Break.
