Jacque Vaughn lost his job as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on Monday morning after earning only a 21-33 record so far this year.
The intimate details of the firing weren’t made public but a report from Shams Charania suggested that there were disagreements about how the team was being run.
According to Charania, via Evan Sidery, Mikal Bridges was “pretty vocal behind the scenes” about Vaughn’s offensive plans.
“Multiple players, including Spencer Dinwiddie, who is now departed, and Mikal Bridges, were pretty vocal behind the scenes for months now about how the offense was running,” Charania said.
“They felt like a lot of what Vaughn was running was being run improperly, without structure,” Charania added.
The team’s offense was supposedly set to revolve around Ben Simmons, but that player has only participated in 12 games so far this season.
The objectives were thrown out the window because of Simmons’ inability to stay healthy and Bridges wasn’t happy with Vaughn’s leadership.
Mikal Bridges was “pretty vocal behind the scenes” about Jacque Vaughn’s offensive scheme, per @ShamsCharania on @RunItBackFDTV.
Vaughn’s offense heading into the season was planned to be primarily built around Ben Simmons, who has only played in 12 games this season. pic.twitter.com/PgDi36dV7Y
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) February 19, 2024
Vaughn took a huge risk by centering his offensive plans around Simmons because the player has had a hard time staying on the court often over the last several seasons.
Nets players could have been upset if Vaughn didn’t have any sort of backup plans when it became apparent that Simmons wasn’t going to play.
If a head coach loses the faith and loyalty of his team, he will surely be relieved of his duties.
That is apparently what happened to Vaughn as Bridges and others soured on what Vaughn was offering.
Now the front office has to decide who will replace Vaughn and if they wish to make more changes in the offseason.
Is there a chance that a new coach and plan allow the Nets to get back to the playoffs?
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Nets GM Releases Statement After Firing Jacque Vaughn
