February 19, (THEWILL) – The Brooklyn Nets have announced the firing of head coach Jacque Vaughn following a disappointing 21-33 start to the NBA season. Vaughn was in his second stint with the team, having coached 129 games and achieving a mediocre 64-65 record.
The decision comes as the Nets enter the All-Star break sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. Their lacklustre performance includes ranking 21st for points scored and 16th for points against per game.
Vaughn joined the Nets as an assistant coach in 2022 before being promoted to interim head coach that November after the departure of Steve Nash. His strong performance saw him named permanent head coach a week later, followed by a multi-year contract extension in February 2023. During that period, he guided the Nets to the 5th best record in the league.
However, the Nets pivoted to rebuild mode by offloading All-Star players Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving before the end of last season. The team is now centered around newly acquired forward Mikal Bridges.
This marks the second time Vaughn has been relieved of head coaching duties in February, having previously been let go by Orlando Magic in 2015 after 2 losing seasons. He began coaching with San Antonio Spurs as an assistant in 2010 after ending a 12-year playing career in 2009.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
