Jacque Vaughn hasn’t even been head coach of the Nets for a week and everyone is already speculating who will be the person to take over for him at the end of the season — which is the timetable Brooklyn set for his reign, at this stage.
Multiple names have been thrown around since the Nets announced on Saturday that the organization and Kenny Atkinson have mutually parted ways. Some feel Vaughn could hold onto the job.
Jay Williams didn’t list Vaughn as one of his two candidates on ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Monday, though he didn’t rule him out:
I think you need somebody who can manage egos. And I think a guy Ty Lue is an option. I think a guy like Jason Kidd is an option. I think you need somebody that both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving can look at and say, ‘This guy is in tune with this game. This guy has won championships before.’ He’s been around [the right] caliber of players that he’s been able to lead them.
In the course of discussing Atkinson’s departure, Williams also made it a point to stress he believes the Nets, as an organization, decided on this change in direction — not specific players:
I ultimately think that this team — team — has decided [Atkinson] wasn’t the right fit to get them to where they wanted to go.
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