The Nets Deciding To Fire Jacque Vaughn On His Off Day Completely Misses The Point Of Why They Stink
Dustin Satloff. Getty Images.Before we dive into this, it only makes sense that we watch the obligatory clip that comes with news like this
Now, is this a surprise? I suppose, mostly because it's not often you hear coaches getting fired during the All Star break. But If I'm Jacque Vaughn I can't imagine I'm too upset, the Nets will probably still be paying him out and now he gets to prolong whatever vacation he may be on right now. Sort of like how I'm sure Adrian Griffin MIL doesn't give a shit that he got canned by the Bucks knowing his checks are still coming too, and it's only a matter of time before he gets another shot on a different team.
Where this doesn't become that surprising is if you just look at ya know, how the Nets are doing during Jacque Vaughns's tenure. Now let's be fair here, he wasn't exactly dealt the best hand after Harden, Kyrie, and KD all demanded their way out of BKN and being forced to actually try and get Ben Simmons to play basketball. That's going to impact things on a pretty big level if you ask me. But in 2.5 seasons as the Nets head coach, they went a combined 71-68, and are 21-33 this year. If you look at some of the responses to the Woj tweet, it doesn't seem like Nets fans are all that upset about this news.
To me, as someone who just watched the Celts beat this Nets team by 50 points, this all speaks to a much larger issue than just who the head coach is. The Brooklyn Nets have no idea what they are doing as a franchise. We've now seen them fire Steve Nash and now Jacque Vaughn, and what exactly has changed? Is the new guy going to step in and drastically change the outlook of this team Probably not.
You know who skates by through all this? Sean Marks. This is his roster right? He was the only who picked Vaughn to be the next guy, and season after season we see the Nets stuck in NBA purgatory. Not good enough to contend, not shitty enough to tank. They have chosen to build their franchise around Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, and their being shitty is the head coach's fault? I'm not sure that adds up. Trading for Ben Simmons was the decision of Jacque Vaughn? I'm not sure that's how it all went down.
And listen, if Nets fans were to tell me this is great because Vaughn actually stinks, fine. I'll obviously accept that. In a results-based business, you need the results to actually happen. When they don't, people get canned. That's life. But from the outside looking in, this is more of the same when it comes to showing the dysfunction of the Nets franchise, which ultimately starts at the top. Until that gets figured out, it's going to be more of the same with this team, no matter who the next head coach ends up being.
Maybe this is why you don't cater to your stars when they demand you fire the coach who had been successful before they got there, only for them to demand their own trades a few years later and suddenly you're left with your dick in your hand. We live in a world where the Knicks aren't only the better team in New York, they are also the more well run front office and organization. Think about that for a second! This is some shit the Knicks of old would do, and now they're competing for homecourt in the playoffs and the Nets are…well I don't even know what the Nets are doing right now.
They refused to truly rebuild and move Bridges for a mountain of picks, they don't trade for talent to make their team better right now. What exactly is the plan, because if what we're seeing is the actual plan then I will once again ask how Sean Marks keeps getting away with this. This current plan stinks out loud.
The good news is Doc Rivers will now be able to come right in and immediately turn this thing around. Oh, wait, we've already played that card this season and Doc's team is 3-7? Damn, well, the Nets may as well go back to the guy who helped turn this team around back in 2016 and just bring back Kenny Atkinson. It certainly can't get worse than what we're watching now.