New Nets coach Jacque Vaughn has a fan in star forward Kevin Durant. Vaughn, of course, was promoted to head coach after being named interim coach following the dismissal of Steve Nash.
“I was excited for him,” Durant said, via Nick Freidell of ESPN. “I know the work that he puts in every day. I know how much he cares about the development of each player, and this team as a whole. Look forward to playing for him. All the guys have responded to how he wants us to play, so I’m looking forward to how we progress after this.”
The Nets (5-7) have won three of five since Vaughn took over on Nov. 1.
“We were struggling, we’ve been through a lot,” Durant said. “Guys got pride, individual pride, and we just wanted to come out and play better. That’s what we’ve been doing. We don’t want this to be a honeymoon stage for us, we want to continue to keep pushing through, keep finding ways to get better, finding ways to turn those weaknesses into strengths and keep pushing from here.”
The Nets remain without point guard Kyrie Irving, suspended by the team for at least five games last week.
Durant didn’t want to compare Vaughn with Nash, calling both coaches “high-IQ guys that know the game,” Friedell reported.
But it’s pretty clear the Nets have something good going — or a lot closer to good than at the start of the year.
Vaughn also coached the Nets for 10 games on an interim basis in 2019-20. He was head coach of the Magic from 2012-15 and sports an overall head coaching record of 68-163.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
