The Brooklyn Nets have already taken care of one of their most important tasks for this offseason in hiring Jordi Fernandez as the head coach moving forward. Fernandez is not wasting time building his coaching staff as he has reportedly hired another member of his staff that has some coaching experience as well.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that Juwan Howard, former head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, has agreed to join the Nets as an assistant coach. Based on reports, Howard is the second person hired to Fernandez’s staff after former Portland Trail Blazers assistant Steve Hetzel was reportedly hired on Sunday.
As Wojnarowski points out in his post, Howard has spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the Wolverines, guiding his alma mater to a 87-72 (54.7 winning percentage) record during a stint that also included two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Howard also has some coaching experience in the NBA as he spent six seasons as an assistant for the Miami Heat before coaching at Michigan.
Howard, 51, also played in the NBA from 1994 to 2013, similar to every coach that the Nets have had under general manager Sean Marks with the exception of Kenny Atkinson, who did not play in the NBA, but had a 14-year professional basketball career nonetheless. As a coach, Howard had a huge year in 2021 as he won the Associated Press Coach of the Year award after leading the Wolverines to a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN Sources: Juwan Howard has agreed to join the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach. Howard spent six NBA seasons as a Heat assistant before returning to Michigan for five years as head coach. Howard arrives as part of Jordi Fernandez’s first staff. pic.twitter.com/RMjNVgpiel
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 26, 2024
[lawrence-related id=58565,58561,58558]