On Monday morning, the Brooklyn Nets relieved Jacque Vaughn of his duties as the team’s head coach. The 49-year-old, revered for his positive attitude and uplifting personality, had been with the organization since 2016.
To his credit, he was instrumental in helping the franchise get through some challenging times, specifically the failed championship conquest of a team spearheaded by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and, at one point, James Harden.
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
Yet, after those three players were eventually moved to different teams, Brooklyn was left with a young roster of up-and-coming players. Although Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Nicolas Claxton, and Cam Thomas have shown promise, the Nets have struggled, resulting in most of the team losing faith in Vaughn which, in the end, led to his dismissal.
Brooklyn Nets who could benefit from firing of Jacque Vaughn
Now, the Nets will turn to Kevin Ollie, someone with an impressive professional and collegiate resume that includes leading UConn to an NCAA Division I title back in 2014.
For Ollie to get Brooklyn at least to the Play-In Tournament, he’ll need the players on his team to buy into a new direction. Fortunately, more than a few of these talents will likely be able to improve tremendously with Vaughn now out of the picture.
Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges has already had an impressive career. He is a multi-time NCAA Champion and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the National Basketball Association.
After the 10 overall pick from the 2018 draft was included in the package that ultimately sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn’s front office made it known that the team would be built around him, especially since the team has rejected several lucrative offers from rival squads vying for his services.
Mikal Bridges speaks on his commitment to the Brooklyn Nets:
— The Brooklyn Way (@Jersey2Brooklyn) February 21, 2024
“I know people might want to think about different situations and teams. Obviously, I’ve got my boys over there in New York, so everybody goes with that…I’m here now and I want to stay here, I’m going to keep grinding… pic.twitter.com/zhKLbq9B7X
Bridges appeared in 27 regular season games for the Nets in 2022-23, and he finished with a career-high 26.1 points. Naturally, most expected more production from him throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, with the 27-year-old logging nearly five fewer points through the first half of this year's campaign. In his defense, however, this likely was due to Vaughn's lack of structure within the offensive scheme.
This Nets front office certainly knows who their top option should be offensively, which was likely a prerequisite for anyone who accepted the interim role.
At any rate, it may not be easy to get Bridges back on the right path, especially since his morale could be lower than ever. Nevertheless, with Vaughn gone and Ollie stepping in as head coach, the odds of a potential turnaround are already starting to look up.