Report: Nets to hire Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez as next head coach

The Brooklyn Nets finally have their next head coach.

The Nets are set to hire Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez as head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Fernandez, who has been a candidate for head coaching jobs across the league in recent years, was the Kings’ top assistant coach this past season.

Fernandez, 41, joined the Kings ahead of last season and helped get them to the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades. Kings head coach Mike Brown won the league’s Coach of the Year award during that campaign, too. Fernandez then helped the Kings finish with a 46-36 record this season and earn a spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament.

Before landing in Sacramento, Fernandez spent six seasons as an assistant coach under Mike Malone in Denver. He also spent time on staff with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fernandez, who hails from Barcelona, is also the Canadian national coach. It won a bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup last year. He also worked as a coach for Spain and Nigeria’s national teams, and he interviewed for jobs with the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks last offseason.

Fernandez will now be tasked with reviving the Nets, who went 32-50 this past season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. It was their first losing record since the 2019-20 campaign, too. Fernandez will replace Jacque Vaughn, who was fired after 54 games this season. Interim coach Kevin Ollie led the franchise the rest of the way.

Fernandez will now be the Nets’ fourth full-time head coach since 2020. Vaughn, a longtime assistant in the organization, took over for Steve Nash after he was fired just seven games into last season. Vaughn did not get to complete a full season leading the team.