Vaughn gone as Nets continue break

Reportedly naming Ollie interim after firing head coach

February 20, 2024 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jacque Vaughn's tenure as the Nets coach ended Monday after he guided the team into the playoffs last year but slumped to a 21-33 mark before this season's All-Star break. AP Photo by Jessie Alcheh

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Sean Marks called it a “difficult decision”, but one he felt he had to make as the Brooklyn Nets plummeted in the standings prior to the NBA’s All-Star break.

Head coach Jacque Vaughn was relieved of his duties Monday morning, just 12 months after Brooklyn’s general manager intimated that he hoped the pro basketball lifer would lead this franchise for “years to come.”

“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” Marks said in a team-issued statement a day after the East’s 211-186 victory over the West in Indianapolis.

“Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years,” added Marks, who gave Vaughn an extension during last year’s All-Star break.

Vaughn was no different than Marks described before or after his firing.

The 12-year veteran point guard and NBA coach for a pair of franchises saw his second stint at the helm in Brooklyn end following last Wednesday’s humbling 136-86 loss in Boston.

The second-worst margin of defeat in team history, and largest in the Brooklyn era ultimately spelled doom for Vaughn, who guided the Nets to the playoffs as the No. 6 seed last season despite the February trades that sent superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant packing.

Vaughn went a combined 71-68 at the helm in Brooklyn, counting his 7-3 record as coach during the Nets’ short stint at the NBA’s bubble site in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nets got swept by Toronto in the opening round in 2020, and again last year the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers despite a strong finish to the regular season and the emergence of Mikal Bridges as the team’s top scoring option.

Vaughn took over for Steve Nash early in the 2022-23 campaign and flourished at the helm despite the deadline deals that threatened to fracture his roster.

He was also an important assistant on Kenny Atkinson’s staff as well as Nash’s, helping to develop young players like Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe.

General manager Sean Marks fired coach Jacque Vaughn just a year after removing the interim tag from his title and giving him an extension. AP Photo by Mary Altaffer

ESPN reported Monday that Nets assistant Kevin Ollie will man the ship for the remaining 28 games, and beyond if Brooklyn reaches the postseason.

The Nets (21-33) will return from the break Thursday to visit the Raptors (19-36) north of the border.

Brooklyn is 11th in the Eastern Conference playoff race at a season-worst 12 games below .500.

The Nets are also 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta (24-31) for the final spot in the league’s play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seeds in the East.

Ollie, who previously coached the University of Connecticut before Marks tabbed him as an assistant last summer, will pick up the Nets after back-to-back losses to the league-leading Celtics.

Last Wednesday’s lopsided loss in Boston, which was only topped by a 52-point defeat to Houston in 1978, when the team was still based in New Jersey, ended an 8-23 nosedive after Brooklyn began the year with a solid 13-10 mark.

Vaughn, however, didn’t seem disheartened by the embarrassing defeat, instead insisting that the Nets would spend their time during the break gearing up for the stretch run.

“It’s a great reminder…that we have work to do,” he said. “We have to be OK doing the work. But I do believe this team can do the work. So use this as a reminder that we got our tails kicked tonight and that after the break it won’t be any easier. But we have to up for the challenge.”

That responsibility will now fall to Ollie, who guided UConn to the 2014 national championship.

He eventually parted ways with the Huskies following his firing in 2018 over a failure to monitor his program after an NCAA investigation.

The 13-year NBA veteran disputed the charges and the termination before he agreed to accept a $4 million settlement from his alma mater. He should be introduced as Brooklyn’s new coach Tuesday or Wednesday.

Reports indicate that Nets assistant Kevin Ollie will be elevated to head coach prior to the team returning from the NBA All-Star break. AP Photo by David Zalubowski

As for Vaughn, the speedy point man and ever-enthusiastic coach will receive the rest of the money left on his contract from the Nets, but could find himself back in the NBA as an assistant before this season is up.

“The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure,” Marks said of Vaughn.