Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Nets Not Hiring Ime Udoka, Name Jacque Vaughn Head Coach
On the heels of a report from Marc Stein via his Substack that "strong voices" were urging Nets owner Joe Tsai not to hire Ime Udoka, Brooklyn's removing the interim tag and naming Jacque Vaughn as head coach.
Vaughn's promotion includes a deal through next season, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Nets are a franchise in turmoil, already dealing with Kyrie Irving's anti-Semitic actions and failure to explicitly apologize, resulting in a suspension for a minimum of five games and Irving needing to satisfy six conditions outlined by the Nets for him to return after that.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports a series of factors in the Nets' due diligence process steered Brooklyn from hiring Udoka.
The Nets either uncovered enough to make a final decision on the matter, or they'll continue investigating. But if they're not hiring Udoka, it raises the question, will anyone?
Some will remain steadfast that PR is the driving force behind Brooklyn not bringing in Udoka as intended when the Nets and Steve Nash parted ways.
Still, Vaughn deserves this opportunity. Since he took over, Brooklyn's 2-2, and the team's playing much harder.
His contract won't stand in the way of the Nets making another coaching change over the summer, but if he earns the job beyond this season, it makes life much easier for the franchise.
Further Reading
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