Jacque Vaughn. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Nets guard thought recent HC news was a 'prank'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 2/21/24

Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Cam Thomas said Wednesday that he was in disbelief when he first saw the news that Jacque Vaughn had been fired from his head-coaching duties.

Cam Thomas on finding out about Jacque Vaughn being fired:

"I thought it was like a prank or something, then Sean [Marks] called and informed me. It's unfortunate... You don't wanna see nobody lose their job at the end of the day. It's tough." pic.twitter.com/lJVZUEDSUZ
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 21, 2024

It's been speculated that Brooklyn was planning to let go of Vaughn prior to the All-Star break, but the announcement wasn't made until Monday.

Wednesday marks exactly one year since the Nets gave the 49-year-old a contract extension.

Vaughn was in the midst of his second season of his second stint at the helm after serving as the interim head coach at the end of the pandemic-altered 2019-20 campaign. Vaughn finished his run with the franchise at 71-68 in the regular season and with an 0-8 mark across two playoff berths.

At 21-33 this season, Brooklyn is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and sits 2.5 games out of the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Former journeyman guard Kevin Ollie was named as the Nets interim head coach on Tuesday. Ollie played 19 games with the then-New Jersey Nets during the 2000-01 season.

The 51-year-old was hired as the head coach at UConn (his alma mater) in 2012, replacing longtime Huskies Hall of Fame leader Jim Calhoun. Ollie led the program to a national title in 2014.

He was hired as an assistant for the Nets under Vaughn last June.

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