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Brooklyn Nets To Hire NBA Legend As Head Coach For Next Season?

Published 08/24/2020, 10:50 AM EDT

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The Brooklyn Nets have been in the search for a permanent head coach since the firing of Kenny Atkinson. Interim coach Jacques Vaughn has done well with the team, but the Nets have a small championship window. They have already lost one year of the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant duo, so they need to push to win immediately.

The one coach that is synonymous with winning is San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Pop led the Spurs to five NBA titles in his 22 seasons with the team. He had a winning record in every single season, making the playoffs every season from 1997 to 2019. His Spurs failed to make the season this year, a first for Pop. His contract with the team is expiring, and there is serious speculation around his future.

While most would assume retirement, The Athletic reports that the Brooklyn Nets are seriously considering hiring Popovich to be the next head coach. A lot of former Popovich team members are on the Nets, including current coach Jacques Vaughn who was once a Pop assistant.

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Brooklyn Nets and their search for a head coach

While the Nets may be interested, getting Popovich will be a major challenge. Coach Pop is one of the most loyal people in basketball and also serves as the President of the Spurs. If Popovich is to leave, it will most likely be a retirement after having achieved everything he can in basketball.

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The Nets probably recognize this, as they have a list of other candidates also prepared. Of course, the incumbent Vaughn is in the mix, but there is also former championship-winning head coach Ty Lue available. Lue is currently an assistant on the LA Clippers. Another LA assistant coach in the mix is Jason Kidd of the Lakers. They are also looking at current USA Basketball coach and former Houston Rockets coach Jeff van Gundy.

The Nets must make a strong choice to capitalize on this dearth of available talent. Ty Lue would probably be the best fit, as he has already coached Kyrie Irving to a championship. The other candidates are strong, but not many can claim to be a former champion like Lue can.

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Written by:

Ishaan Bhattacharya

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Ishaan Bhattacharya is an NBA, NCAA Basketball, and Combat Sports writer at EssentiallySports. Currently, Ishaan is pursuing a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism from Xavier's Institute of Communication. Previously, Ishaan has written for The Indian Express, The Quint, Sportskeeda, and WrestleClub.
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