Jacque Vaughn was head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for only two games before the NBA went on hiatus due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. He may get another chance to prove he’s the right coach for the franchise’s next phase, so long as the NBA tries to at least play the 2020 playoffs.
But even if the league does pick up play and things go well under Vaughn, there’s no guarantee he becomes the permanent head coach.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Brooklyn’s two star players — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irivng — want a well-known name calling the shots on the sideline.
One of the things that has been expressed sort of the grapevine … is that Durant and Irving would like a blue chip coach. I don’t know what this says about the way they thought about [Kenny] Atkinson, but they want a big name coach.
Windhorst and others discussing the matter on the ‘Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective‘ podcast would not bring up individuals who currently have head coaching jobs as options. Those who were mentioned that don’t currently have jobs included Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau, and Mark Jackson.
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