Since the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets in 2011, they have had little to no success in the coaching department.
In the last 13 seasons, they have had 12 coaches, which is almost a new coach every season, which is abysmal. It is very difficult to create a culture and establish a winning team consistently when there is no stability in the coaching staff.
After firing coach Jacque Vaughn and replacing him with Kevin Ollie to finish out the season, Brooklyn has finished their search and has named a first-year candidate as the head coach for the Nets next season.
Fernandez Ready To Step In
A young head coach ready for the challenge and earned his first coaching job
The Nets plan on hiring Jordi Fernandez to be their next head coach. Fernandez is in his eighth year as an Assistant coach and his second season with the Sacramento Kings. He spent his previous six seasons with the Denver Nuggets in a similar role as the assistant coach. If the rumors are true, and he is the Nets’ next head coach, this will be his first head coaching job in the NBA.
It was announced six days ago that the finalists were Fernandez, former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, and Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young. The best person for the job was Budenholzer as he has the most coaching experience and has also won an NBA Finals Championship, as he was the head coach of the 2020–21 Bucks.
Fernandez is a solid assistant head coach and, at just 41 years old, he is young and will get a head coaching job someday or for a team with less pressure and expectations than the Nets. He was not even on the Nuggets staff when they won the NBA Finals. However, Fernandez was named the best assistant coach of the season for this year.
Tons of Pressure On Front Office
After many head coaching hires and a failed super team, Sean Marks needs to make this next hire last
This coaching hire should be the most important head coaching hire for Nets general manager Sean Marks, because if this fails, it could be his last. The Nets’ best chance to win or even make the NBA Finals was when they had a big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Due to injuries, they were not able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and then Durant and Irving were eventually traded.
The Nets’ new top players are Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Cam Thomas. This team has been underwhelming, especially this season as they did not even qualify for the Play-In Tournament. Marks and company need to make the right hire for the head coach position because this is a team that should be retooling, not rebuilding.
The Nets have just enough draft capital and assets to make a splash this season to acquire a superstar. One superstar they could potentially acquire is Donovan Mitchell. There have been rumors floating around that Mitchell may ask for a trade if the Cleveland Cavaliers fail to go on a deep run in the playoffs this season.
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Brooklyn Nets Draft Picks |
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2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
2029 |
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1 1st |
0 1st |
2 1st |
1 1st |
3 1st |
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2 2nd |
4 2nd |
0 2nd |
4 2nd |
6 2nd |
The Nets should have hired Budenholzer as their head coach because they need a veteran coach who has head coaching experience and has also won a title before. Budenholzer would instantly take this team back to the postseason, especially depending on who comes and goes in the off-season.
High Praise From Hall-of-Famers
A couple of Budenholzer’s former players were very happy about him getting his first NBA head coaching job
Some of his former players while with the Spurs and Hall of Famers Tony Parker and Tim Duncan had to say some kind words about Budenholzer.
“He’s a great coach, a big part of what we’ve done all those years. It’s a great opportunity for him. It’s about time. He’s going to have a great chance to prove what he can do. He’s in good hands, and I’m sure he’s going to do a good job.”-Tony Parker
Duncan stated that it has been a long time coming and well deserved. Also, he knows he is going to do a great job in Atlanta. Well, fast-forward and Duncan was right. In his five seasons as the head coach of the Hawks, he had a record of 213-197 with four playoff appearances, including an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the 2014-15 season.
If the Nets want to be back to being one of the contenders in not only the Eastern Conference but also the league, a solid off season as well as Budenzholzer becomes the head coach and not an unproven Fernandez. Fernandez could be a fine head coach someday, but the Nets cannot afford to take a risk and give some rookie coach a job, especially when it has not worked out recently in their franchise’s history.
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