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7 months ago
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Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jodi Fernandez has emerged as the favorite to become the Brooklyn Nets' next head coach.
On Monday night, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Nets are prepared to hire Fernandez two months after firing former head coach Jacque Vaughn.
Assistant Kevin Ollie has played the interim head coach in the absence of a permanent replacement. Still, the Nets finished their disappointing season with a 32-50 record as the 13th-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
Fernandez currently serves as the Kings' associate head coach, a position he held since 2022, working next to head coach Mike Brown.
Before arriving in Sacramento, Fernandez had his first NBA experience with the Cleveland Cavaliers' players' development. He then coached their G-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, before working with the Denver Nuggets as an assistant from 2016-2022.
The Brooklyn Nets are prepared to sign Jordi Fernandez as their next head coach
ESPN Sources: Jordi Fernandez has emerged as the Brooklyn Nets’ choice to become the franchise’s next coach, separating himself in a wide, month-long search that now has the Nets prepared to hire the Sacramento Kings’ top assistant. pic.twitter.com/VHqXY9AYsb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 16, 2024Fernandez (R) is currently the associate head coach for the Sacramento Kings
The Nets elevated Kevin Ollie as the interim head coach after firing Jacque Vaughn in February
Additionally, Fernandez was hired as the head coach for the Canadian national team in 2023 and led them to a third-place finish at the FIBA World Cup last year.
Fernandez was one of the brains behind Sacramento snapping a 16-year playoff drought last season before losing to Golden State in the first round despite securing a third-seed finish. Although the Kings did not have as impressive of a season this year, they are still in playoff contention after reestablishing themselves in the competitive West.
Sacramento finished the regular season with a 46-36 record and will face tenth-seeded Golden State again in the Play-in Tournament.
Fernandez will take over a Brooklyn team that has failed to find its legs since the Kevin Durant-James Harden-Kyrie Irving experiment imploded in 2021.
Shortly after Harden left first, the Nets fired coach Steve Nash and moved Vaughn to interim status. However, Durant and Irving soon requested trades and ended up in Phoenix and Dallas, respectively.
While they managed to make the playoffs following their stars' departures, the Nets got swept by Joel Embiid and the 76ers in the first round.
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