Jacque Vaughn’s strong work guiding the Brooklyn Nets earned him a contract extension at last season’s All-Star break – but fast forward 12 months and the coach has now been sacked by the franchise.
Vaughn oversaw a 50-point loss – their worst since moving to Brooklyn – in his final game in the job, before the NBA halted temporarily for the annual mid-season festivities.
Brooklyn announced Vaughn’s departure from the coaching position on Tuesday (AEDT), with an interim coach yet to be named.
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“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.
“Jacque has represented this organisation with exemplary character and class for the past eight years. The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure.”
The team dropped five of their last six games before the break to fall to 21-33, putting them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, with question marks mounting over the offensive tactics employed by Vaughn.
One league insider claimed the decision to centre their attacking style around Aussie star Ben Simmons, who has struggled for game time this season due to injury, led to frustration within the playing group.
”They felt like a lot of what Vaughn was running was being run improperly, without structure,” Shams Charania said on FanDuel’s Run It Back podcast.
“When they went into training camp, a lot of their offence was built around Ben Simmons, and him playing at the 1, and him playing at a high level for them.”
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Vaughn finished 71-68 during his tenure with the Nets, guiding them into the playoffs on two separate stints after replacing Steve Nash in 2022.
Brooklyn’s lack of star power this season has been apparent after trading away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, while Vaughn lamented last week the minutes restrictions that have kept Simmons on the sidelines had hindered the team’s chances.
