Kevin Durant on Jacque Vaughn promoted to head coach of Brooklyn Nets: “He deserves this opportunity; great basketball mind, great team builder”

Kevin Durant gave his stamp of approval to the Brooklyn Nets' new head coach, Jacque Vaughn. On his podcast, ETCs with Kevin Durant, KD and Eddie Gonzalez talked about Vaughn.

With Brooklyn and Steve Nash parting ways, Vaughn was appointed interim coach on Nov. 1. On Wednesday, Vaughn, a Nets assistant since 2016, took the position permanently.

Durant's public backing of Vaughn is a big deal for the organization, with Durant as the team's leader. With the turmoil that KD had with Nash and the Nets organization, accepting Vaughn is a big deal.

Brooklyn went from having a star who was not willing to play unless its coach and general manager were removed, to having a coach that their star is confident to play under. That is a big change in the right direction.

“I felt like he was due for an opportunity here," Durant said on this episode of his podcast. "I’m happy for him, man. He deserves this opportunity. Great basketball mind, great team builder.

“I felt like he was the guy because he paid his dues, knows the players, seen guys come in and out, tight relationship with the front office. So, I think he could connect with the players a little easier, because it’s hard to transition a new guy into, you know, midway through the season.”

Brooklyn has been suffering chemistry issues for a while now. And Durant is correct: If the organization was to bring in a foreign entity, it may have shaken things up in the wrong direction.

“For the continuity purpose, it was good for us to just still with Jacque,” the two-time champion said.

What lead Jacque Vaughn to leading the Brooklyn Nets

Jacque was selected 27th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1997 draft. After four seasons there, he moved to the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets before ending his career with the San Antonio Spurs in 2008-09.

Vaughn then started his coaching career with the Spurs, where he was the assistant coach from 2010-2012. After that, he joined another team he had played for: the Magic. This time it was as a head coach.

During Vaughn’s 2012 to 2015 stint in Orlando, he recorded 58 wins and 158 losses. His best season was in 2013-14, when the Magic won 23 games.

After being fired from the Magic in 2015, Vaughn returned to the Spurs as a professional scout.

Going back to coaching, Vaughn would join Kenny Atkinson's staff in Brooklyn as a top assistant coach. Jacque was interim head coach of the Nets in March 2020 after Atkinson’s departure, where he was set aside for Steve Nash.

During the 2019-20 season, when Vaughn was Brooklyn’s head coach, he posted a 7-3 record. Jacque coached four playoff games that season but did not get a win.

Well, the circle is now complete, and Vaughn is back as head coach of Brooklyn, and Kevin Durant is happy about it.

Since Jacque stepped in to lead the Nets, Brooklyn is 2-2.

Jacque Vaughn’s coaching record might leave something to be desired, but as Durant pointed out, the experience in Brooklyn matters.

Having spent so much time with the organization and seeing everyone come and go, getting tuned to the flow of things might allow Jacque to be comfortable with making the big decisions.

That fluency will be important for managing someone like Kevin Durant.