After the Brooklyn Nets fired Steve Nash seven games into the season, finding a new coach was their top priority.
There were a handful of names being thrown around as potential coaches for the Nets.
But, they decided to stay in-house and hire Jacque Vaughn as their next head coach.
Vaughn was an assistant under Nash and now he takes over the reins.
This is the second head coaching opportunity of his career, with the first being from 2012-15 with the Orlando Magic.
In three seasons with the Magic, Vaughn had a record of 58-158.
He struggled with an Orlando team that did not have a good roster.
Stephen A. Smith thinks Vaughn was not the right decision for the Nets, as he thinks they should have hired Ime Udoka.
The biggest reason for the Nets not going with Udoka was because of the Kyrie Irving saga.
With Irving’s suspension, the Nets did not want to hire a coach that was suspended the whole season by the Celtics.
Brooklyn is already under scrutiny because of Irving so they must have felt it was best to go with a non-controversial coach.
Will Udoka Ever Get A Job?
Udoka showed last season that he can be a successful NBA head coach.
He took the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year, and he should get another opportunity.
After this season will be the first chance Udoka has to find a new job.
Most teams are going to wait until his suspension is in the rearview before hiring him.
Any team with championship aspirations should be interested in hiring Udoka.
Keep an eye on which teams fire their coach this season as Udoka will be a lead candidate.
NEXT: Kyrie Irving Is Approaching His Return To The Nets