It was a little over a year ago that the Nets fired head coach Steve Nash, promoting his assistant Jacque Vaughn to the head role. Ultimately, Vaughn couldn’t survive in the organization either.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced Vaughn’s firing early Monday morning. The Nets had been sliding, going 6-18 since starting the year at 15-15. Despite having excellent defensive talent on their roster, they were ranked no. 21 on that side of the ball. They had lost by 50 points to the Celtics in their last game coming into the All-Star break.
Now, the Nets will look yet again at the coaching market. Here are the hires that make sense for them.
NOH: Winners (Steph/Sabrina) and losers (effort) from All-Star weekend
Nets coaching candidates for 2024
Kevin Ollie
Ollie, currently an assistant on Vaughn’s staff, has already been named the interim head coach. The 13-year NBA veteran carved out a gritty career as a role player by doing anything and everything his teams needed from him.
Ollie has head coaching experience, leading UConn to a surprising national championship in 2014 as a No. 7 seed and compiling a 127-79 record there. He resigned in 2018, in part due to NCAA violations.
Ollie took over as the Head of Coaching and Basketball Development for Overtime Elite, helping to get that program off the ground. He joined the Nets staff this summer. He has a good track record of working with younger players and he had a ton of success in his first few years as a college head coach. If he performs well for the rest of the season, then this could be his job to keep.
Will Weaver
Weaver is another assistant on Vaughn’s staff. He has worked for the Nets for two different stints, previously serving as a special assistant to Kenny Atkinson.
Weaver has head coaching experience, both internationally and in the G-League where he won Coach of the Year honors. He’s worked his way up through the coaching ranks, starting as a video coordinator for the Sixers back in 2013.
Mike Budenholzer
Budenholzer enters the coaching market with a strong resume. As a two-time Coach of the Year and holder of five championship rings (four as an assistant with the Spurs, one as head coach with the Bucks), he boasts impressive credentials.
Budenholzer’s offensive philosophy, based on the five-out principles, has undeniably influenced the league. His teams in Atlanta and Milwaukee consistently exceeded expectations during regular seasons.
The criticism against Budenholzer that he hasn’t made enough adjustments in the postseason. Given how the Bucks have fallen apart without him, that criticism may be overblown.
Jordi Fernandez
Fernandez is currently an assistant coach under Mike Brown with the Kings, but it’s only a matter of time before he gets a head coaching job. He was the overwhelming winner in the NBA general manager’s survey naming the best assistant coach in the league, impressing many with the job that he did over the summer as head coach for Team Canada in the FIBA World Cup.
MORE: Jordi Fernandez could be the next hot NBA head coaching candidate
Fernandez has a great mind for offense, writing academic articles about the subject that have him one class away from earning a Ph.D. in sports psychology. He helped Team Canada finish in third place in the World Cup tournament and guided them to the second-best offense behind a more stacked Team USA. What made his performance all the more impressive was that he was a late replacement for Nick Nurse and only had a few months to prepare for the job.
Fernandez has decades of experience as an assistant in the league and has already been interviewed for a number of head coaching jobs, including the Suns, Bucks, and Raptors. He compiled an impressive 62-38 record as a head coach of the Canton Charge in the G-League, showing that he can handle being a lead guy. If the Nets want to go with the best assistant available, then he’s the guy.
Mike D’Antoni
D’Antoni worked with Vaughn and Nash as an assistant for the Nets back in the 2020 season. He left after only one year, in order to pursue head coaching jobs per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Those opportunities haven’t materialized for the 72-year-old coach. This may be his best option remaining given his familiarity with the organization.
D’Antoni completely revolutionalized the game with his offensive strategies. He has a sterling record of 672-527 over 16 seasons with the Nuggets, Suns, Knicks, Lakers, and Rockets. He’s among an elite group of nine coaches to earn multiple Coach of the Year awards.
His teams have never won it all, but he’s been to the playoffs 10 times and made three Western Conference Finals appearances.
