The start of the Nets’ 2022-23 season has been a whirlwind, to say the least.
It’s included a 2-6 start, head coach Steve Nash losing his job, and Kyrie Irving getting suspended for his social media activity (along with the fallout from it afterward). But after a dominant victory over the Knicks earlier this week, the vibe in Brooklyn is starting to change. Albeit ever so slightly.
Instead of hiring suspended Celtics coach Ime Udoka, the Nets took the interim title off Jacque Vaughn to lead this team for the remainder of the regular season. Even if that’s the case, could Brooklyn tear down its roster before the trade deadline? According to SNY’s Ian Begley, that’s not on the table just yet.
The Nets reportedly want to give Vaughn, who is 3-2 since taking over for Nash, a chance to win with Kevin Durant on the roster. Speaking of Durant, GM Sean Marks mentioned that no players were consulted in the decision to keep Vaughn in charge:
I update the players and the players knew ahead of time. But again, Kevin’s job here is to go and play basketball, and that’s what he wants to do. That’s what he enjoys to do. And let’s let him go do that. And my job here is to put this organization in the best place moving forward, and what we need to fill our needs right now. So that decision was not up to Kevin.
Who knows how true this actually is? But either way, Durant sounds happy with the change so far:
I know the works that he puts in every day. I know how much he cares about the development of each player and this team as a whole and I’m looking forward to playing for him.
What’s most important for Brooklyn moving forward is consistently racking up victories to avoid any type of roster teardown. If not, maybe Durant will get his original wish of getting traded before the midseason deadline after all.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
