Jacque Vaughn’s robust work guiding the Brooklyn Nets earned him a contract extension ultimately season’s All-Star break.
Only a yr later, the Nets fired Vaughn after a 50-point loss in his ultimate recreation, its worst since transferring to Brooklyn.
The Nets introduced Vaughn’s departure Monday and mentioned an interim coach could be named quickly.
“This was an extremely tough choice, however one we really feel is in the most effective curiosity of the crew going ahead,” basic supervisor Sean Marks mentioned in a press release. “Jacque has represented this group with exemplary character and sophistication for the previous eight years. The constant positivity and fervour he poured into our crew each day will stay with the gamers and workers he interacted with all through his tenure.”
The Nets dropped 5 of their final six video games earlier than the break to fall to 21-33, placing them in eleventh place within the Jap Convention. Their 136-86 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday was their worst defeat since leaving New Jersey in 2012 and the second-worst in franchise historical past, and main scorer Mikal Bridges appeared notably annoyed in his postgame feedback.
Vaughn completed 71-68 with the Nets, guiding them into the playoffs on two separate stints.
Vaughn changed the fired Steve Nash on Nov. 1, 2022, and shortly led the Nets from a poor begin towards the highest of the East. Brooklyn went 12-1 that December and 43-32 the remainder of the season, making the playoffs regardless of buying and selling Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving through the season.
However Brooklyn’s lack of star energy this season has been obvious, and Vaughn lamented final week the minutes restrictions which have stored Ben Simmons and a few of his different prime gamers from staying on the ground lengthy sufficient to present the Nets a greater likelihood to be aggressive.
The Nets received off to a 15-15 begin this season, however issues started to show when Vaughn made a curious choice to barely play or solely relaxation all his prime gamers throughout a 144-122 house loss to Milwaukee on Dec. 27. The NBA fined the Nets $100,000, the primary time a crew was sanctioned for violating the league’s participant participation coverage that went into impact this season.
Vaughn received his first likelihood to teach the Nets in March 2020 after Kenny Atkinson was fired simply earlier than the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the Nets to a 7-3 report and into the playoffs within the restart “bubble” at Walt Disney World, however the Nets then opted to present the top teaching job to Nash, regardless of having no expertise. Vaughn stayed on as an assistant.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than he received one other likelihood to run the crew after Nash was fired throughout a turbulent begin to the 2022-23 season. The Nets received as excessive as second within the East earlier than Durant was injured and the Nets gave Vaughn a multiyear contract extension on Feb. 21, 2023, with Marks saying he appeared ahead to Vaughn main the crew “for years to return.”
Not fairly one yr, it turned out.
With out the shot-making that Durant and Irving offered, the Nets struggled at instances when video games have been shut within the fourth quarters. Vaughn additionally confronted a virtually season-long problem to determine his finest lineup, with Simmons lacking 38 video games at one level due to a pinched nerve in his decrease again after which was compelled to overlook some video games or play restricted minutes when he returned.
That meant the Nets performed a method on the nights they’d Simmons and one other method once they didn’t, an issue Bridges pointed to after the loss in Boston. However an evening earlier, Vaughn had checked out a crew that was getting more healthy and nonetheless believed a turnaround was attainable.
“I’m simply going to be easy and grateful that we’re getting guys again and hopefully we’ll get to a place the place we’re complete and we come out of the break able to make a push,” Vaughn mentioned.
Vaughn is 129-226 as an NBA coach, having gone 58-158 in his first alternative with Orlando.