Brooklyn Nets have 5 head-coaching candidates so far
The Brooklyn Nets have begun making a head-coaching wishlist
The Brooklyn Nets sent shockwaves throughout the league when it was announced that they were parting ways with head coach Kenny Atkinson a little more than a month ago. It quickly became clear that the team wanted a fresh leadership voice as it approaches a new era with a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2020-21.
The big question is, however, who the new head coach will be? There have been whispers that there could be some interest, from both sides, in Tyronn Lue – who has championship experience as a coach and is familiar with Kyrie Irving (he coached him in Cleveland).
According to Marc Stein, the Nets are beginning to develop a possible list. In addition to Lue and the team’s current interim head coach, Jacque Vaughn, the team has three other big-name candidates that it hopes to sit down with.
Tyronn Lue, Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and the incumbent interim coach Jacque Vaughn are among the names on the Nets' developing list of coaching candidates, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 23, 2020
It’s no surprise to see Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy on this list. Jackson has been a name that has come up in recent head coaching vacancies but hasn’t landed a job since he was last let-go by the Golden State Warriors. Van Gundy’s name has come up but has refused to seriously consider a job.
Kidd appears to want another head coaching shot and is currently an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The real curveball here is that this Nets job will be considered the best opening in the NBA this summer. Whoever takes this job will have a real shot at making a deep run in the playoffs during their first season. Depending on how Kevin Durant looks, the Nets could be a real contender next season.
This early list of candidates is not surprising. This is a whos-who of potential candidates. The odds on favorite has to be Lue, I believe, especially if the report is true that Kyrie Irving wants him to be the next head coach.
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The Nets likely will hold off until the offseason (whenever that occurs) to name a new head coach, and this list of potential candidates will likely grow in the next few weeks and months. One thing is sure, though, and it’s that they are looking to make a splashy hire. After the summer that they had, that’s not exactly surprising.