Nets assistant Royal Ivey leaving to join Houston Rockets, source confirms
Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey will join new Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s staff, a league source confirmed.
ESPN first reported Ivey’s hiring on Thursday and it means coach Jacque Vaughn now has three open assistant coach positions on his staff.
Ivey, 41, was hired by previous Nets coach Steve Nash in November 2020 after being an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Knicks. He and Udoka were both assistants on Nash’s staff for that season before Udoka was hired by the Boston Celtics as their head coach.
Ivey also returns to the state where he played in college. He played four seasons at the University of Texas, including a trip to the Final Four in 2003, before being drafted 37th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004.
Since the season ended, Vaughn has shaken up his staff, which carried over from Nash’s tenure. He parted ways with three assistants and reportedly hired Long Island's Jay Hernandez, who spent the past five seasons as an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets.
The Nets have two first-round picks (No. 21 and 22) in next month’s NBA Draft.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
