Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn signs multiyear contract extension with Brooklyn

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has signed a multiyear contract extension, the team announced on Tuesday, following the departures of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. 

The 48-year-old’s new deal will now keep him in New York’s most populous borough through the 2026-27 season, according to ESPN. 

Prior to agreeing to fresh terms, Vaughn, who played 12 seasons in the NBA as a point guard before going into coaching, was under contract until the end of this season, even though a team option was included for 2023-24.

The former Orlando Magic coach has led the Nets to a 32-19 overall record since taking over from Steve Nash following the Canadian’s dismissal in November. He also oversaw the blockbuster trades of superstars Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns and Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. 

‘Jacque has made an immediate and immeasurable impact on our entire organization since assuming the role of head coach earlier this season,’ Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a team statement released Tuesday. 

Jacque Vaughn’s new deal will reportedly see him in Brooklyn through the 2026-27 season

Vaughn, 48, has been rewarded for rebuilding the Nets after a turbulent season full of changes

‘On the court, he’s clearly demonstrated his leadership through his ability to connect and communicate at a very high level while displaying tremendous instincts for the game. As a person, they don’t come any better than Jacque.’ 

The Nets have gone 2-2 since trading away Durant and Irving while simultaneously trying to reassemble its lineup with new guard Spencer Dinwiddie, seven-foot-one small forward Mikal Bridges, and promising young star Cam Thomas. 

Brooklyn is 34-24 overall and the fifth seed of the Eastern Conference ahead of the NBA restart on Thursday from the All-Star break. 

‘His character is impeccable, and there is not a better representative for our team and our borough,’ Marks added in the team’s announcement of its head coach’s new deal. 

‘We are thrilled to have Jacque lead the Nets for years to come.’

Before moving up north, Vaughn was an assistant on Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs for two years. He moved to Florida in 2012 to become the next head coach of the Orlando Magic. 

He was fired midway through the 2015 season following the team’s inability to reach the playoffs over the two years prior. A year later, Vaughn was hired as Kenny Atkinson’s top assistant for the Nets before the start of the 2016-17 season. 

He was promoted to interim head coach in March 2020 after Atkinson’s mid-season departure and stayed on Nash’s coaching staff when the former two-time NBA MVP was initially hired in September 2020. 

Vaughn oversaw Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving being traded before the NBA Trade Deadline