After firing coach Jacque Vaughn, the Brooklyn Nets are promoting assistant Kevin Ollie to interim head coach, sources told ESPN.
Ollie will lead Nets practice on Tuesday and begin his head coaching duties on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors, sources said. The Nets have 28 regular season games left.
The Nets' hopes are that Ollie can revitalize a roster that has fallen into the bottom 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency since mid-December. Ollie, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, won a national championship as UConn's coach in 2014 and joined the Nets as an assistant coach this season.
In two-plus seasons as Nets coach, Vaughn was 71-68 in the regular season and 0-8 in the playoffs. He replaced Steve Nash a season ago before going 43-32 and being swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“To Joe Tsai, Clara Wu-Tsai, Ollie Weisberg, Sam Zussman, Sean Marks and the Nets front office, coaches, staff, players, the BSE family and the entire Brooklyn district: it was a pleasure to be your coach in chief,” Vaughn said in a statement issued to ESPN following his firing. “I hope that every person I interact with feels respected and valued. Just know that I gave you everything I had every day. On to the next chapter. Amor Fati.”
Vaughn got his first opportunity to coach the Nets in March 2020 after Kenny Atkinson was fired just before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the Nets to a 7-3 record and the playoffs in the restart “bubble” at Walt Disney World, but the Nets later opted to give the head coaching job to Nash, despite having no experience. Vaughn remained as an assistant.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but we believe it is in the best interest of the team moving forward,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class over the past eight years. The constant positivity and passion he poured into our team on a daily basis will remain with the players and staff he interacted with during his tenure. We thank Jacque for everything “What he has done for the Nets and the neighborhood of Brooklyn, and we wish him, Laura and their family the best in the future.”
Vaughn is 129-226 as an NBA coach, after going 58-158 in his first opportunity with Orlando.
The Nets are rebuilding the roster around forward Mikal Bridges. They have significant cap space and recruiting capital to build around them this summer and beyond.
