There are few things more Brooklyn than “Do The Right Thing.” That’s exactly what the Nets did Wednesday, once they named Jacque Vaughn head coach — and nixed Ime Udoka.
That isn’t a guarantee or perhaps a prediction that Vaughn will guide the Nets into the NBA Finals, the best way Udoka did with the Celtics last season. But Udoka would’ve added more drama to a team already more dramatic than reality TV.
“The Real Housewives of Flatbush & Atlantic” couldn’t make up Kevin Durant telling the Nets to trade him unless Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks were fired. Or Kyrie Irving’s string of controversies, the most recent getting suspended for promoting an anti-Semitic film.
The Nets needed a dose of sanity. They needed some stability. And that’s Vaughn.
“You hit on it right there: Finding anyone with some stability. That’s JV, a really stable, poised under pressure gentleman,” said Marks, who celebrated with a 112-85 rout of the rival Knicks on Wednesday night. “That’s who he’s. He’s seen all of it.
“He knows all of us. There’s a relationship here that he already has, whether it’s front office and staff and likewise the players. At this particular time, to be honest, we were going to have to search out anyone higher than JV to ensure that it to not be JV.”
Gentleman.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t a Boy Scout merit badge. Vaughn is being hired to win games. But doing it without drama is sweet. Doing it with class is healthier. Doing it without the form of sexual misconduct that got Udoka suspended is a must.
“We got a number of respect for him and we’re going to follow his lead,” Ben Simmons said.
Added Markieff Morris: “He’s a serious-type coach.”
Udoka was banned for a yr by the Celtics for an affair with a subordinate, sending unwanted and inappropriate texts, and a “volume of violations.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s office was tight-lipped about any league input, but Boston’s Jaylen Brown told reporters after Wednesday’s Celtics game that the Irving drama likely kept the Nets from taking the chance on Udoka.
“The situation here in Boston was unlucky, but I feel with the Brooklyn Nets now they’ve got lots more occurring without delay, the Kyrie Irving situation which everyone seems to be monitoring,” Brown said. “So I feel that’s probably what hindered him from getting that spot.”
While the Nets had been getting ready to hiring Udoka, team owner Joe Tsai heard concerned voices from contained in the organization, across the league and girls’s groups. In spite of everything the Nets’ talk of culture, hiring Udoka would’ve flown within the face of that — or proved it to be empty talk.
As an alternative, the Nets did the appropriate thing.
“JV is greater than deserving of this,” Marks said. “He’s proved it. [And] we factored in what we knew about JV and the person he’s.”
Marks has known what form of person Vaughn is for some time.
Vaughn was a Spurs assistant when Marks arrived in San Antonio in 2011 as a basketball operations assistant. Vaughn took the Orlando head-coaching job the following yr, and when he returned to San Antonio as a professional scout in 2015, Marks had risen to assistant GM.
The Nets also know all about Vaughn, who had been an assistant in Brooklyn since 2016. He went 7-3 as interim coach after Kenny Atkinson was fired in 2020, but didn’t get the job, which went to Nash.
“He did an unbelievable job within the interim,” Joe Harris said. “But even prior to that, he coached us within the interim when Kenny was let go. So that is technically his first win … but he’s got lots under his belt since he’s been here.”
After going 2-2 in the primary 4 games of his interim encore, Vaughn finally has the top job. And he showed it off in style before a sellout crowd of 18,156.
“I suppose I used to be the write-in candidate within the minds of the elections without delay,” Vaughn said. “But I’m OK with that. I said to my wife: I may not have been her first alternative and we’ve been together 20 years, so it will possibly all work out.”
Understanding is relative. Only two coaches in NBA history — Tim Floyd and Sidney Lowe — who’ve coached as many games as Vaughn have a worse winning percentage. But in his last head-coaching stint, a decade ago in Orlando, he was green and his team was talent-poor. His gray beard and Durant’s presence show neither is the case now.
He took over a team that was 2-5 due to being next-to-last in defensive rating. In his first 4 games as interim coach, they were third-best. They hope his head-coaching stint is more of the identical.
“He’s inspiring. He’s got me excited,” Nic Claxton told The Post. “He’s gonna do an incredible job leading us.”
If he does, it’ll show the Nets did the appropriate thing.
There are few things more Brooklyn than “Do The Right Thing.” That’s exactly what the Nets did Wednesday, once they named Jacque Vaughn head coach — and nixed Ime Udoka.
That isn’t a guarantee or perhaps a prediction that Vaughn will guide the Nets into the NBA Finals, the best way Udoka did with the Celtics last season. But Udoka would’ve added more drama to a team already more dramatic than reality TV.
“The Real Housewives of Flatbush & Atlantic” couldn’t make up Kevin Durant telling the Nets to trade him unless Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks were fired. Or Kyrie Irving’s string of controversies, the most recent getting suspended for promoting an anti-Semitic film.
The Nets needed a dose of sanity. They needed some stability. And that’s Vaughn.
“You hit on it right there: Finding anyone with some stability. That’s JV, a really stable, poised under pressure gentleman,” said Marks, who celebrated with a 112-85 rout of the rival Knicks on Wednesday night. “That’s who he’s. He’s seen all of it.
“He knows all of us. There’s a relationship here that he already has, whether it’s front office and staff and likewise the players. At this particular time, to be honest, we were going to have to search out anyone higher than JV to ensure that it to not be JV.”
Gentleman.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t a Boy Scout merit badge. Vaughn is being hired to win games. But doing it without drama is sweet. Doing it with class is healthier. Doing it without the form of sexual misconduct that got Udoka suspended is a must.
“We got a number of respect for him and we’re going to follow his lead,” Ben Simmons said.
Added Markieff Morris: “He’s a serious-type coach.”
Udoka was banned for a yr by the Celtics for an affair with a subordinate, sending unwanted and inappropriate texts, and a “volume of violations.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s office was tight-lipped about any league input, but Boston’s Jaylen Brown told reporters after Wednesday’s Celtics game that the Irving drama likely kept the Nets from taking the chance on Udoka.
“The situation here in Boston was unlucky, but I feel with the Brooklyn Nets now they’ve got lots more occurring without delay, the Kyrie Irving situation which everyone seems to be monitoring,” Brown said. “So I feel that’s probably what hindered him from getting that spot.”
While the Nets had been getting ready to hiring Udoka, team owner Joe Tsai heard concerned voices from contained in the organization, across the league and girls’s groups. In spite of everything the Nets’ talk of culture, hiring Udoka would’ve flown within the face of that — or proved it to be empty talk.
As an alternative, the Nets did the appropriate thing.
“JV is greater than deserving of this,” Marks said. “He’s proved it. [And] we factored in what we knew about JV and the person he’s.”
Marks has known what form of person Vaughn is for some time.
Vaughn was a Spurs assistant when Marks arrived in San Antonio in 2011 as a basketball operations assistant. Vaughn took the Orlando head-coaching job the following yr, and when he returned to San Antonio as a professional scout in 2015, Marks had risen to assistant GM.
The Nets also know all about Vaughn, who had been an assistant in Brooklyn since 2016. He went 7-3 as interim coach after Kenny Atkinson was fired in 2020, but didn’t get the job, which went to Nash.
“He did an unbelievable job within the interim,” Joe Harris said. “But even prior to that, he coached us within the interim when Kenny was let go. So that is technically his first win … but he’s got lots under his belt since he’s been here.”
After going 2-2 in the primary 4 games of his interim encore, Vaughn finally has the top job. And he showed it off in style before a sellout crowd of 18,156.
“I suppose I used to be the write-in candidate within the minds of the elections without delay,” Vaughn said. “But I’m OK with that. I said to my wife: I may not have been her first alternative and we’ve been together 20 years, so it will possibly all work out.”
Understanding is relative. Only two coaches in NBA history — Tim Floyd and Sidney Lowe — who’ve coached as many games as Vaughn have a worse winning percentage. But in his last head-coaching stint, a decade ago in Orlando, he was green and his team was talent-poor. His gray beard and Durant’s presence show neither is the case now.
He took over a team that was 2-5 due to being next-to-last in defensive rating. In his first 4 games as interim coach, they were third-best. They hope his head-coaching stint is more of the identical.
“He’s inspiring. He’s got me excited,” Nic Claxton told The Post. “He’s gonna do an incredible job leading us.”
If he does, it’ll show the Nets did the appropriate thing.
