Nets name Jacque Vaughn as head coach
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn signals to his team during the second half of a game against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 5, 2022 in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Rusty Jones
Jacque Vaughn’s stability and ability to communicate with players helped earn him the permanent position as Nets coach, general manager Sean Marks said Wednesday – an acknowledgement of the team’s extreme volatility in this first month of the season, as well as a superstar-laden roster that has nonetheless underperformed.
The team parted ways with Steve Nash on Nov. 1, after a 2-5 start that was pockmarked by extreme controversy after Kyrie Irving posted a link to an antisemitic movie last month. Vaughn was named interim coach then for the second time in his seven years as an assistant coach with the organization; the team is 3-2 under his watch after Wednesday night's blowout victory over the Knick. The Nets have looked more lively, defended better, and appear to be responding to Vaughn. Neither Marks nor Vaughn revealed the length of the contract, only that it was a multiyear arrangement.
“JV [is] a very stable, poised under pressure gentleman,” Marks said. “To be honest, we were going to have to find somebody better than JV in order for it not to be JV… Personally, I like the way the team has been playing. They’ve been competing at a high level. They’ve obviously rallied around each other. They’ve rallied around the coaching staff. They’ve rallied around JV. He’s been the catalyst for that.”
The Nets reportedly were considering suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka for the job, though Marks would not comment on that. The nature of the allegations against Udoka are unknown, but The Associated Press and other media outlets reported it was for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate; they are also serious enough that Udoka apologized and did not contest the year-long suspension.
Vaughn has built strong relationships with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in his time as assistant, and previously coached the Nets for 10 games after the team parted ways with Kenny Atkinson (they went 7-3).
"I know how much he cares about the development of each player and the team as a whole and I look forward to playing for him and all the guys have responded to how he wants us to play," Durant said. He's "simplified a lot of stuff…[He’s] putting us all in situations to succeed individually which is going to help us as a collective. We’ve still got a long road ahead."
Vaughn was head coach of the Orlando Magic for over two seasons, going 58-158 before getting fired midway through the 2014-2015 season.
He’s grown a lot since then, he said.
“I was a young coach,” Vaughn said. “I definitely am glad I took that job. It made me a better assistant coach, what my head coach needs along the way. So that part was powerful. I've just grown as an individual – much more secure in myself.”
And the lessons, he said, will help him deal with the intricacies of handling his superstars – superstars who have made no secret of their desire to have a hand in day-to-day decision making.
“I think in today’s NBA, [it’s important to have] the ability to communicate with guys on as small as things as, what time do we want to leave, to big things as pick and roll coverage and lineups on the floor,” Vaughn said. “I think it’s OK to have that kind of communication. I might’ve resisted that as a young coach where I thought I had to prove to everyone that I knew every answer all the time...and I think that’s changed.”
Marks said that Durant was told the Nets planned to hire Vaughn, but that the decision did not come down to him. Because of the ongoing Irving situation, as well as Nash’s ouster, they're in a public relations maelstrom; Marks would not say if this led to the team going with the relatively safe choice.
“There’s always noise out there,” Marks said. “Good, bad, indifferent. I think part of this role is you have to be able to separate whatever the noise is, the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between and figure out what’s best for the organization...JV is more than deserving of this.”
For Vaughn, it’s a dream long deferred, and a second chance with a franchise where he spent part of his 12-year playing career.
“It means a lot,” Vaughn said. “[I've] been hopefully a loyal servant along the way [as an assistant] and now I get to serve in a different capacity and I'm looking forward to it.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
