Now That The Season Is Over, This Is Who Should Coach the Nets To An NBA Championship

With the Brooklyn Nets having now completed their 2019-20 campaign, they’re facing a lot of questions when it comes to their future. Arguably the most pressing question though is who will serve as their 27^th head coach as the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant led team aspires for an NBA championship as soon as next season?

A lot of names have been thrown out there since March, when the team parted ways with Kenny Atkinson before the season was suspended due to COVID-19. Some of the names are the usual suspects whenever a coaching vacancy comes about including Mark Jackson, Tyronn Lue, Jeff Van Gundy and Jacque Vaughn as well (who served as the interim head coach for the rest of this season).

Now as the season has progressed and more coaches have either been relieved of their duties or had their team eliminated from contention some more names have been thrown into the mix. Former Indiana Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan and the third-most winningest coach in NBA history, Gregg Popovich.

As you can make a good case for any of these coaches, the most important thing to ask is can they not only put a good product of basketball on the floor but can they manage multiple personalities and egos that they will have on the roster including KD, Kyrie and others?

If those are the two most pressing questions the Nets’ front office will have in mind as they interview candidates going forward, three coaches fit that criteria perfectly.

1)Jacque Vaughn

It’s safe to say Vaughn exceeded expectations this season after taking over for Atkinson. Vaughn went 7-3 for the rest of the regular season including the games before the season suspension. In the bubble’s eight seeding games he led the team to a 5-3 record and secured the 7^th seed in the East for the playoffs.

Granted, the Nets got swept by the defending champion Toronto Raptors to be sent home from the bubble last week but it’s worth taking into account the much-depleted roster Vaughn had to work with. It was without KD, Kyrie, DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chandler, Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince and Nicolas Claxton. They also were without Joe Harris for the final two games of the series. Therefore, Vaughn made it work with what he had going into the bubble, and more importantly gained his players’ respect. Guys on the roster had nothing but good things to say about him in hopes that the organization will bring him back next season.

So, if you take that and add KD and Kyrie to the mix things can only get better. It’s also worth noting that Vaughn is no stranger to success. As a player he was a part of some successful years with the Utah Jazz, Nets and San Antonio Spurs (which resulted him winning an NBA championship in 2007). Lastly, Vaughn has been an assistant coach in the Nets organization since 2016.

2)Nate McMillan

The Pacers just dismissed McMillan last week after Indiana got swept in the playoffs 4-0 by the Miami Heat. McMillan is a very well-respected coach in the league, but unfortunately the Pacers couldn’t dismiss the fact that he failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs in all four years that he was their head coach. In McMillan’s defense though, he’s never really had a strong team to contend for a championship with. The one year that he coached with Paul George in Indiana (George’s last year there) the team went 42-20 and got bounced in the first round.

This was with George getting the majority of the attention on the scouting report given to the opposing teams. Imagine what McMillan can do with a team that has a star guard, forward and center in addition to multiple role players that play their role well.

3)Mike D’Antoni

Needless to say, the Houston Rockets are still in the playoffs this year, heading into a Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Therefore, D’Antoni is still employed. However, since him and the Rockets have chosen not to extend his contract past this year just yet, there’s been an elephant in the room all season. Will he be there going forward? Who knows but you’ve got to think that if they don’t win a championship this year the two will go their separate ways.

If that becomes a reality then he would be a great fit for Brooklyn. He is a 2x NBA Coach of the Year, has led many successful teams with star power including the likes of Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Many of his teams have been top 10 offenses in the league in their respective years.

With all of that being said Brooklyn should be a good fit for him. Not only that but there should be a mutual trust between the two parties. It’s not rocket science (no pun intended) to understand how you can create an elite offense with offensively gifted players like KD and Kyrie leading a team. That’s something that you can trust. D’Antoni can also trust that the team will give him the freedom to run the offense however he wants to. Much to the surprise of many the Rockets have also improved on their defense (especially in the bubble), which is something D’Antoni’s teams have not been known for.

So, with guys like DeAndre Jordan, KD, Taurean Prince and others who are known for their defense it seems like a perfect match.

Will the Nets go with one of these options though? We have to wait and see. Vaughn is the only one who the Nets have completed an interview with thus far out of these three, and reportedly he blew them away and “impressed ownership,” according to The Athletic’s Sham Charania.