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Jacque Vaughn has started his time with the Nets with a record of 15-7, but he may deserve an additional victory. He may be gaining ground with Kevin Durant.
Durant, who allegedly demanded a trade in the summer and reportedly demanded the firing of general manager Sean Marks and then-head coach Steve Nash, returned to the team when no deal could be arranged.
The Nets were 2-5 when they parted ways with Nash and finally gave the reigns to Vaughn, a former assistant who has revitalized the Nets’ defensive effort.
“Jacque is doing a fantastic job of making changes during a game,” said Durant after the Nets defeated the Wizards in Washington on Monday, their eighth win in nine contests.
Durant noted the substandard quality of many of the opponents the Nets had defeated recently, but he was not apologizing for the victories and was instead giving praise to the head coach.
Durant stated, “I’ve enjoyed the kind of basketball we’ve played on both sides of the court.” No matter who was on the court, we adhered to our system.
Durant consistently responds positively to the question “Am I happy?” because he is healthy and actively playing hoops.
The contentment level of a superstar signed through the 2025-26 season who is building an early MVP case is always worth monitoring, and it looks that the Nets’ coaching change has helped.
“[Durant’s comment] hopefully indicates that we’re doing the right things, that we’ve made the proper adjustments, and that we’re headed in the right direction,” Vaughn said Wednesday via Zoom before the Nets’ visit to Toronto on Friday. “If you can recall when I originally acquired this job, I said I would keep everything really straightforward and focused on basketball.
“And I know that for Kevin, these are two tremendously essential factors. We make every effort to avoid discussing events occurring outside of basketball. When we come to the gym, it is to help this group improve.”
Vaughn said that Royce O’Neale will return Friday after missing two games due to personal circumstances.
Vaughn stated that Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren are “working on adding more minutes.” Simmons has featured in two games since recovering from a calf ailment, while Warren has appeared in five games since making his reappearance after nearly a year of foot problems.
Since their return, neither player has played more than 23 minutes in a game, and Vaughn did not indicate that the minutes would increase immediately.
The head coach stated, “We’ll continue to get a feel for how they respond after each game.”
The Nets continued to juggle Day’Ron Sharpe after recalling him from the Long Island Nets.
The big man scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of G-League action on Tuesday.