The Brooklyn Nets have made news during the All-Star break by firing head coach Jacque Vaughn after a lackluster 1.5 seasons as the leader of the team. While the Nets will be naming an interim head coach in the near future, there are some reports surfacing that could provide context into Vaughn’s dismissal.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, his sources said that “some within the Nets had concerns that Vaughn could hinder their chances at landing a top player” prior to the news. This report could indicate that Vaughn’s job could have depended on more than just how the team performed, even if they were able to make it back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Begley also pointed out in his piece that, according to his sources, “several players had lost confidence in him amid Brooklyn’s struggles” as Brooklyn entered the All-Star break with a 21-33 record, good for 11th place in the East. It was clear that the players, most notably Mikal Bridges, were becoming more frustrated with the team’s recent bout of losing.
It has been known for awhile that the Nets are more interested in trying to improve until it is able to acquire a star-level player at some point in the future. If those within the organization truly wanted to make that plan happen, it would have been hard for them to move forward with confidence knowing how they felt about Vaughn’s long-tern future.
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