NETS PUT THEIR FAITH IN JACQUE
Coach gets multi-year extension
Jacque Vaughn is in Brooklyn to stay. The Nets have inked their coach to a multi-year contract extension.
The 48-year-old was promoted to the top job after the Nets fired Steve Nash following a 2-5 start to the season.
The organization quickly removed the interim tag and elevated him to head coach on Nov. 9.
“Jacque’s basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement at the time.
“He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball.”
Vaughn has coached the Nets to a 32-19 record since taking over, but recently watched his two superstar players — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — get traded away.
Vaughn, who played more than a decade in the NBA after being selected in the first round out of Kansas in 1997, was the head coach for the Magic from 20132015 before joining the Nets as an assistant in 2016-17. He has remained in the organization ever since.
“Jacque has made an immediate and immeasurable impact on our entire organization since assuming the role of head coach earlier this season,” Marks said Tuesday in a news release.
The Nets (34-24) are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets had discussed the position with former Celtics coach Ime Udoka early in the season before settling on Vaughn.
Vaughn quickly steadied the team and the Nets surged to a franchise-best 12-1 record in December, earning coach of the month honors in the East.
The Nets climbed all the way to second in the East before Durant was hurt in January. He never played for the team again and was traded to Phoenix days after Irving was dealt to Dallas.
Vaughn has continued to preach that the Nets still have enough that they should expect to win even despite the departure of the All-Stars.
“On the court, he’s clearly demonstrated his leadership through his ability to connect and communicate at a very high level while displaying tremendous instincts for the game,” Marks said. “As a person, they don’t come any better than Jacque.
“His character is impeccable, and there is not a better representative for our team and our borough.”
Vaughn is in his second stint coaching the Nets. He led them to a 7-3 record in 2020, including a playoff appearance during the restart at World Disney World, before the Nets hired Nash that fall.