Nets Not Planning To Rebuild After Replacing Head Coach

It’s been a tumultuous couple of months for the Brooklyn Nets, who’ve gone from championship favorites, to both their star players wanting out, to now one of those stars indefinitely suspended amid a brutal start to the season. The announcement of Jacques Vaughn as their new head coach came with a new wave of questions. Fans wondered whether the Nets were planning on tearing down their roster and initiating a rebuild, especially since the rumored hiring of proven coach Ime Udoka was seemingly abandoned at the last second.

That Nets rebuild is definitely incoming. Ime Udoka was a win now move. Jacque Vaughn is rebuilding move.
— The Big OG said FIRE DOC RIVERS! (@OHGEENiCK) November 9, 2022

It seems like, for now at least, that’s not the case though. SNY NBA insider Ian Begley has reported that someone with knowledge of the front office has said they plan to give Vaughn a proper chance at winning before making any major roster decisions. As an internal hire, Vaughn has plenty of familiarity with the team’s personnel and systems, so it’s possible Joe Tsai and the front office simply wanted to avoid the usual growing pains that come with an outside hire. It’s hard to argue with the results so far; Brooklyn has looked much stronger since former coach Steve Nash left the team, a timespan which has also closely coincided with Kyrie Irving’s suspension for antisemitism.

Nets this season

With Kyrie: Without Kyrie:
8 games 4 games
2 wins 3 wins
18th in offense 7th in offense
29th in defense 1st in defense pic.twitter.com/5NSFQ7spVm
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 10, 2022

It’s entirely possible the Nets fall back to earth and decide to kick off a fire sale. For now though, the vibes in Brooklyn are as good as they’ve been in a long time.