Seeking to move forward after a scandal-ridden start to the season, the Brooklyn Nets made Jacque Vaughn their head coach on Wednesday, opting against hiring suspended Boston Celtics Coach Ime Udoka. Vaughn, a longtime Nets assistant, was named interim coach when Steve Nash was fired last week.
The 47-year old Vaughn will get a long-awaited second chance at a head job after compiling a 58-158 (.269) record as coach of the Orlando Magic from 2012 to 2015 and previously served as the Nets’ interim coach following the 2020 firing of Kenny Atkinson, Nash’s predecessor. A former NBA player who spent 12 seasons with five franchises, including the Nets, Vaughn was a member of the title-winning San Antonio Spurs in 2007 before retiring in 2009.
“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 hiring provides a measure of constancy for the Nets, who have been embroiled in controversy following Kyrie Irving’s sharing of an antisemitic book and film on his social media account. Brooklyn suspended Irving for at least five games last week. The All-Star guard met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday to discussion the situation, according to multiple people who confirmed the meeting. The earliest Irving could return is Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The reeling Nets have faced significant pressure to win following Kevin Durant’s offseason trade requests, and they explored the possibility of hiring Udoka in hopes of turning things around following a disappointing 4-7 start to the season. Udoka was suspended for the season by the Celtics in September for having an improper relationship with a female team employee. Because Udoka was suspended by the Celtics and not the NBA, he was free to join the Nets’ bench immediately, though his potential return was almost certain to generate backlash.
Despite Udoka’s suspension and subsequent exile from the Celtics, the Nets pursued the former NBA player, who spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach on Nash’s staff in Brooklyn, before changing directions. The 45-year-old Udoka served as a USA Basketball assistant coach at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where Durant led a gold medal run. He also served as a Philadelphia 76ers assistant in 2019-20, when Ben Simmons, who was traded to the Nets last February, made the All-Star team.
Vaughn will inherit a long list of challenges that bedeviled Nash, who departed last week with a 94-67 (.584) record in two-plus seasons.
The Nets have the NBA’s 22nd-ranked defense after ranking 20th or worse in each of the past two seasons. Irving initially refused to apologize for his social media post and drew rebukes from the NBA, the National Basketball Players Association, the Nets and owner Joe Tsai, and it remains unclear when he will return to the court. Simmons, meanwhile, is averaging career-lows in scoring and shot attempts, and he has yet to find a functional fit alongside Durant and Irving.