Nets make former UConn coach Ollie interim head coach
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks hasn't given up on his team making the playoffs this season, and now Kevin Ollie will be tasked with leading it there.
Ollie was named Tuesday as Brooklyn's interim coach, replacing Jacque Vaughn, who was fired a day earlier.
The Nets are 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final play-in spot with 28 games remaining. Marks said the decision to replace Vaughn with Ollie during the All-Star break was based on “the direction of the team and where it's potentially trending.”
Marks spoke with reporters for almost 20 minutes prior to the team's practice Tuesday night, its first under Ollie, who joined the Nets' staff as an assistant ahead of this season.
“He's always carried a great voice in there. He's very direct with the players. He does hold them accountable,” Marks said. “I think what makes a good coach is to be able to put yourself in those players' shoes, be able to tell great stories and be brutally honest with guys and I think those are attributes that Kevin absolutely has.”
The 51-year-old Ollie played 13 NBA seasons and led UConn to an NCAA title a decade ago. Ollie coached UConn from 201218. The Los Angeles native then spent two years (202123) as head of coaching and basketball development for Overtime Elite, a developmental league for young players, before joining the Nets.
“I played 15 years professionally, 13 years in this league,” Ollie said. “Never once did (a) coach call a play for me. I had to get it with grit, I had to get it with determination, I had to get it with a mindset that we're gonna get better each and every day. That's how I coach, that's what I'm going to demand. I want them to demand that from me, and that's from day one. We can't be 30th in loose balls, we can't have five charges on the season. We can't have those things. That's losing basketball with me.”
Vaughn went 71-68 in two stints with the Nets, including a brief stretch as interim coach at the end of the 2009-10 season, and led Brooklyn to the playoffs twice. He was seen as a stabilizing force after replacing Steve Nash seven games into last season.
This season, the Nets are 21-33 and have dropped five of six, including a 50-point loss to Boston in their last game before the All-Star break.
Marks was asked whether that ugly defeat factored into his decision.
“I think that's one thing,” Marks said. “When you get to a juncture here and you've had the last two months, as I've said before, we have not had the results that we wanted to have . ... This was an opportunity to make a change at this particular juncture. There was no one (thing) you could look back on and say it was then or then or this. You look at it globally.”
When asked whether owner Joe Tsai gave him a mandate to make the playoffs, Marks said no but added, “that is a goal, without a doubt.”
SUNS SIGN VETERAN FORWARD THADDEUS YOUNG >> The Phoenix Suns signed forward Thaddeus Young on Tuesday, giving the team another veteran presence as they scramble for playoff position in the crowded Western Conference race.
The 35-year-old Young has played 1,162 career games, which ranks third among active players behind only LeBron James and Chris Paul. The 6-foot8, 235-pounder played 23 games for the Toronto Raptors earlier this season, including six starts, averaging 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
The Suns are currently in the No. 6 position in the Western Conference playoff race. The top six teams in each conference automatically advance to the first best-of-7 round, skipping the play-in tournament, which involves the 7-10 seeds.
RANGERS 3, STARS 1 >> Igor Shesterkin made 41 saves and the host New York beat Dallas for its eighth straight win. Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck scored for the Rangers in the matchup of division leaders.
Miro Heiskanen scored for the Stars. JETS 6, WILD 3 >> Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and added an assist to lift host Winnipeg to a victory over Minnesota, ending the Wild's six-game point streak. Marco Rossi scored twice and Kirill Kaprizov notched a goal and assist for Minnesota.
AVALANCHE 3, CANUCKS 1 >> Ryan Johansen broke out of a scoring slump with two goals, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 24 shots and