Jacque Vaughn has begun his Nets tenure 15-7, however perhaps he needs to be credited with an additional victory. He could also be profitable over Kevin Durant.
Durant, who infamously requested a commerce in the summertime then reportedly demanded GM Sean Marks and then-head coach Steve Nash be fired, returned to the group after no commerce was labored out.
The Nets have been 2-5 after they cut up from Nash, and the reins finally have been handed to Vaughn, a former assistant who has sparked a renewed defensive effort from the Nets.
“Jacque is doing a terrific job of creating changes all through a sport,” Durant mentioned Monday after the Nets beat the Wizards in Washington, their eighth victory in 9 video games.
Durant talked about the subpar high quality of lots of the opponents the Nets have knocked off lately, however he was not apologizing for the wins — and he was crediting the top coach.
“I’ve preferred the model of basketball we’ve performed on each ends of the ground,” Durant mentioned. “No matter who's on the court docket, we nonetheless performed our system.”
When requested if he's completely satisfied, Durant all the time solutions affirmatively as a result of he's wholesome and taking part in basketball.
The happiness degree for a famous person signed via the 2025-26 season and making an early MVP case is all the time price monitoring, although, and the Nets’ teaching change seems to have helped.
“[Durant’s compliment] hopefully signifies that we’re doing the appropriate issues, we’ve made the appropriate changes and we’re on target in our method,” Vaughn mentioned Wednesday over Zoom earlier than the Nets go to Toronto on Friday. “In the event you can suppose again to after I first bought this job, I mentioned I used to be going to maintain issues very simple, and it was going to be about basketball.
“And I do know for Kevin, these are two issues which are extraordinarily necessary. The issues which are occurring outdoors of basketball, we strive to not even contact on. Once we come to the fitness center, it’s about this group getting higher.”
Royce O’Neale is anticipated to return Friday after lacking two video games as a consequence of private causes, Vaughn confirmed.
Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren are “working in direction of including extra minutes,” Vaughn mentioned. Simmons has performed in two video games since coming back from his calf harm, and Warren in 5 since debuting after almost two years of foot points.
Neither has performed greater than 23 minutes in a sport since returning, and Vaughn didn't state the minutes would decide up instantly.
“We’ll proceed to get a pulse of how they reply from every sport,” the top coach mentioned.
The Nets continued to play yo-yo with Day’Ron Sharpe, who was recalled from the Lengthy Island Nets.
On Tuesday, the large man scored 19 factors with 12 rebounds in half-hour in a G-League win.
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