Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden weren’t the only ones who didn’t stay in Brooklyn for long. The Nets have changed coaches almost as often as they’ve had superstar players in recent years, even though the team was good enough to reach the playoffs five times in a row from 2019 to 2023.
Maybe Jordi Fernandez will be the coach who stays and succeeds for a long time. He’s the first head coach from Spain in NBA history. On Wednesday, he said he thinks the Nets will get better quickly after having a 32-50 record last season.
“We will see results right away because, like I said before, this industry is about getting results and improving,” Fernandez said.
Before joining the Nets, he spent two seasons as the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He impressed the Nets during the search for a new coach, which started almost immediately after they fired Jacque Vaughn during the All-Star break.
“I think what makes Jordi stand out from many other candidates is that he can work with a team that’s still developing, and he has experience with different coaching roles,” said general manager Sean Marks.
“He’s coached star players before and has also been in charge of player development. So, with our team, he’s going to earn the respect of the players.”
The Nets need to figure out their roster plan. At first, they were gradually building under Kenny Atkinson, but then he got replaced in the 2019-20 season. After that, they went for star players like Durant, Irving, and later Harden under Steve Nash.
But now, with those stars gone, they have a younger team. Last season, they finished under interim coach Kevin Ollie, and Fernandez thinks having a young team is good.
“Youth is always good because it means you can have a team for a long time,” Fernandez said. However, whether he’ll get to stay for a long time is uncertain.
“You never want to have to let people go, whether it’s coaches or staff,” Marks said. “But in sports, there’s always change. We’re lucky to have our jobs, and we hope to keep them for a long time.”
Fernandez, who is 41 and from Badalona, Spain, started coaching when he was a teenager. He worked as an assistant coach for his national team, helping them win medals at events like the EuroBasket and the Olympics. Last year, he coached Canada to their first medal in the Basketball World Cup.
Marks mentioned that he got positive comments from people who had worked with Fernandez before, including his time as an assistant coach in Denver from 2016 to 2022.
Fernandez admitted he couldn’t fully explain why recent coaches in Brooklyn didn’t stay long, but he’s hopeful for himself. He believes the Nets’ young players will enable them to play fast and aims to build a strong offense and defense, mentioning Nic Claxton as a potential Defensive Player of the Year.
Fernandez has already talked to the players and will start working with them and forming his team before leaving for six weeks to rejoin the Canada squad. He plans to return to the Nets in August.
“It will require time, direction, and structure,” Fernandez said, “but with the team we have and our current partnership, I’m confident we’ll get off to a good start.”
