Here’s why there’s no shame in Jacque Vaughn not landing the Nets’ head coaching job
Jacque Vaughn, the popular interim coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, lost out to Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash in a bid to become the team’s new head coach.
But it wasn’t necessarily a sad day for former University of Kansas point guard Vaughn, who according to ESPN’s Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski, accepted a deal that will make him the highest-paid “lead assistant” in the entire league.
No official details of Vaughn’s new contract were announced.
“Extremely important,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said of keeping the 45-year-old Vaughn in Brooklyn, where he’s worked the past four seasons.
“I love the continuity that we have with Jacque staying in place,” Marks added on Wojnarowski’s ESPN.com podcast. “I will say this, not only was it important to me, it was more important to Steve. This was one of Steve’s first requirements of the job. (He said), ‘I want to do it but I’ve seen how Jacque coaches, I know the person and I look forward to getting to know him better.’
“That was led as much by Steve as it was was by myself,” Marks added. “We know we have a good tandem here. It’s going to be fun to watch those guys communicate and continue to grow as a team.”
Of course some head coaching vacancies remain in the NBA at this time and it’s conceivable Vaughn could be contacted as a candidate for one or more of those.
Yet on Thursday, it appeared to be one happy family in Brooklyn.
“We are thrilled to retain Jacque as a leading member of our coaching staff,” Marks said in a release on the team’s official Website. “Jacque has been an integral part of our program and a key contributor to the growth and development of our entire organization. His role in developing our players both on and off the court and his influence driving our culture have been invaluable. Our players will benefit from the continuity of Jacque’s presence, and we are extremely fortunate to keep him in our Nets family.”
ESPN’s Wojnarowski said the Nets’ front office indeed has been impressed with Vaughn over his tenure with the team.
He wrote: “Vaughn made a strong impression on Tsai (Joe, owner) and Marks after taking over for Kenny Atkinson in February, including during the league’s restart in Orlando, Florida. He likely would’ve been the Nets’ choice had Nash been unconvinced of taking the job.”
Vaughn — he replaced Nets’ head coach Atkinson right before the season was suspended because of COVID-19 coronavirus in March — led the Nets to a 5-3 record in the NBA bubble as the team emerged as No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Brooklyn lost to Toronto in the first round.
Nets players Jamal Crawford, Caris LeVert, Garrett Temple and Jarrett Allen, as well as Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, were just some of the individuals who publicly expressed support for Vaughn during the team’s head coaching search.
“I coached Jacque in Orlando. He played with me for an entire year,” Rivers said recently to Netsdaily.com. “I’m a big fan of his. He was one of those players, similar to (Clippers assistants) Ty Lue, and Sam Cassell, that you knew when they retired, they would be coaches.”
Nets shooting guard LeVert said recently to Netsdaily.com: “We knew he (Vaughn) was a great leader, so it’s great to see it pay off in the wins and loss columns. But we’ve been seeing it behind the scenes.”
LeVert added in a recent interview with the New York Post: “Everybody trusts Jacque in the organization. Everyone trusts his decision-making. He’s made several switches with the lineup, how we’re playing offensively, defensively. He’s been great with adjustment and things like that.
“It’s definitely been tough with the lineup we had, with the (injury depleted) roster we had, and he’s done a great job of adjusting and being adaptable. The guards really feed off of what he brings to the table. He’s a competitive guard, a competitive coach. He’s played in the league for a while and everyone follows his lead.”
“We love playing for him. We really love it,” noted Nets shooting guard Temple in calling Vaughn a “player’s coach.”
Vaughn has head coaching experience, going 58-158 in 2 1/2 seasons with a rebuilding Orlando Magic team from 2013-15.
“He’s been able to rally us together, rally us under his system, help us believe in him and believe in the things he’s doing for us. He’s just done an unbelievable job,” noted Nets forward Allen, who played college basketball at the University of Texas.
Vaughn, the 1997 Academic All-American of the Year his senior season at KU, appeared to relate to the Nets’ players on the court and in the locker room.
He recently spent time in the NBA bubble discussing with the Nets the life and legacy of civil rights leader John Lewis, who died on July 17 at the age of 80. Vaughn also recently celebrated with his players the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Following a slide presentation on the Act, he asked everyone on the team to make sure to register to vote.
“We’ve made a commitment to continue to educate our group and that was an opportunity,” Vaughn told the New York Post. “We’ll keep putting opportunities in front of our guys to grab onto.”
ESPN’s Wojnarowski said Vaughn “made a strong impression” on the front office and “would’ve been the Nets’ choice had Nash been unconvinced of taking the job.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 9:13 AM.
