Nets Name Jacque Vaughn as Head Coach

The Nets named Jacque Vaughn as head coach Wednesday to replace Steve Nash, who was fired last week. Vaughn has coached the team in an interim capacity in the four games since then.

Vaughn took over at a particularly fraught time for the organization, whose star point guard Kyrie Irving posted a link to an antisemitic film on Twitter in late October.

“Jacque’s basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward,” Nets General Manager Sean Marks said in a statement Wednesday. “He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball.”

Vaughn has been an assistant coach for the Nets since 2016 and served as an interim head coach in 2020 after Kenny Atkinson was fired as coach.

The team announced Nov. 1 that it had agreed to part ways with Nash. Not long afterward, media reports began to link the Nets with Ime Udoka, the Boston Celtics coach whom the team had suspended for violating unspecified team policies. According to two people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak about it publicly, Udoka had a relationship with a female subordinate.

The Nets had not said whether they were considering Udoka to replace Nash. The Celtics have given Udoka permission to talk to other teams and would not demand compensation if another team signs him, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

This is a breaking story and will update.