Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden are not the only ones who did not have a long stay in Brooklyn.
The Nets have gone through so many coaches, almost as fast as the passing of big stars in recent years, even as the team has been good enough to string together five consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-23.
Possibly Jordi Fernández is the strategist who has lasting success.
The first Spanish coach in NBA history said yesterday that he hopes the Nets will improve soon following finishing the season with a 32-50 record.
“We will see results right away, because as I said before, in this industry it is regarding giving results and improving,” said Fernández.
The Canadian men’s national team coach spent the last two seasons as the assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings, and stood out during a search that began almost immediately following the Nets fired Jacque Vaughn at the All-Star break.
“I think what sets Jordi apart from a lot of the candidates is that we found that he can see a roster developing, he can follow several different paths,” general manager Sean Marks said.
The Nets will have to decide what type of squad it will be. They were being built gradually at the start of Marks’ tenure, under Kenny Atkinson, before being replaced during the 2019-20 season. They then gambled on a superstar project with Steve Nash as coach, signing Durant and Irving in free agency and then acquiring Harden in a trade.
With all those players transferring, the Nets returned with a younger team last season, which they ended up under interim coach Kevin Ollie, and Fernandez said he likes having that type of roster.
“Youth is always great because it allows you to have a team for a long time,” Fernández said.
#predicts #success #Nets
2024-05-04 06:22:44
