Making A Case That Fernandez Might Be The Right Man At The Right Time For Nets
As readers of this forum are aware, I have been an admirer of Tom Thibodeau well before he has helped lift the Knicks into a legitimate Eastern Conference contender. New York’s Head Coach has his detractors, but no one can deny his impressive record of getting NBA players to buy in to his demands so they themselves can improve (and make more money).
Thibodeau is a non-stop pusher, often colorfully so. He’s the one coach whose voice can be heard clearly from the middle level Barclays Center press tables. I recall the 2013 NBA Playoffs when his Bulls faced the Nets and I’d wake up in the middle of the night shaken by echoes of Thibodeau’s screams of “Ice! Ice!” That was the series Brooklyn somehow lost in seven games despite Chicago’s lengthy injury list.
Since then, I have hoped that the Nets would employ a HC who, if not Thibodeau himself, would similarly embody that no-nonsense attitude where it’s accountability to the team above all else.
Unfortunately, that really hasn’t been the case, particularly since Sean Marks took over as Nets General Manager in 2016. I’ll acknowledge that Kenny Atkinson was a fine fit for a young, developing team, but his successors have been “nice guys” who, while not finishing last, never accomplished much. Steve Nash was hired not because he had the coaching chops to bring out the best of a superstar-laden squad—to the contrary, he previously had never coached anywhere at any level—but because his Hall-of-Fame pedigree and communication skills would theoretically make him relatable to those stars. As we all know, Nash won one playoff series and, a year later, was the subject of an offseason leak that Kevin Durant wanted him gone.
So much for being a star whisperer. Nash lasted seven more games before Jacque Vaughn presided over the team’s dismantling, often with a smile on his face. Kevin Ollie, a well-respected assistant with an NCAA Championship on his resume, replaced Vaughn on an interim basis at this season’s All-Star break, but with no runway, he could do no better in demanding the accountability necessary to fix a wayward program.
Now it’s Jordi Fernandez’s turn. The Nets made the official announcement of Sacramento’s Associate Head Coach’s hiring on Monday morning.
Though I am on record in posting that Brooklyn could have done better than going with another candidate with zero successful NBA head coaching experience, my subsequent research unveiled a glimmer of hope. Fernandez, from many accounts, is an all-business sort who isn’t afraid of stepping on toes.
In old videos, including during his stint as the bronze medal-winning Team Canada HC at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, you can feel Fernandez’s passion, his sense of urgency. No let-ups allowed. Many times, like with Thibodeau, he’d spray in some profanity to get his point across.
Sometimes, that can come across as a negative. NBA players, after all, are men. Exorbitantly paid men. Some have instincts that makes them repel demands they don’t immediately recognize as in their best interests. That can lead to some uncomfortable relationships. Early prediction: Fernandez will not be universally liked in Brooklyn’s locker room.
However, I think this could be what the Nets need in the moment, and it is on Marks to be supportive of Fernandez in that endeavor, even if it means weeding out those who aren’t responding well to the directives. The best pros, the ones that truly desire to improve, want to be coached. Everyone else can go fly kites. You’d think that’s a given, but I’m sorry to say that it’s not within NBA GM/HC dynamics.
Where can Fernandez and his pushing make a difference? The Nets, from my perspective, were inexcusably negligent this season in the details that can impact basketball games. I’ll give you one example: The Nets have been widely derided for drawing a league-low nine charges all season, per NBA.com, a figure that was less than 28 players had individually drawn. A good coach gets players to do things they don’t necessarily want to do. It starts with a more forceful but persuasive voice so that such players see the benefits on their own. Understanding personalities matters, but that doesn’t mean the rules are selectively applied. If Knicks All-Star Jalen Brinson can take the hit on 35 charges this season, Fernandez must attempt to convince every single Net to make those kinds of sacrifices for the good of his team going forward.
In general, the Nets need an entire overhaul of their defensive culture. As I’ve said many times, there was never a good reason why a team with so many highly-regarded defensive players should have finished 20th in NBA.com’s defensive rating per 100 possessions this season.
I put a lot of that on a Nets’ coaching staff that did a lousy job with laying a defensive foundation that could be executed with relative consistency. It’s why so many sequences went astray from breakdowns and hesitations over assignments.
Instead of scheming to hide the team’s weaker defenders (cough, Cam Thomas, cough), Brooklyn seemed to actually encourage opponents to target them unmercifully. In another example of the switch-everything model’s pitfalls, there should always be an immediate reaction triggered so that the screened smaller defender isn’t tasked with the big man roller in the paint. No wonder the Nets often struggled with limiting opponents’ second-chance points.
These things have to be drilled by a forceful and direct HC so that, eventually, they become good habits. Obviously, how this is done requires some deftness. If Fernandez, a Spain native, comes in too hot, some players might respond with a “Who’s this guy?” reflex.
Fortunately, Fernandez has an education to draw upon, as The New York Post’s Brian Lewis reported that he is one completed academic article shy of earning a Ph D in sports psychology. Fernandez is also off to a good start by bringing in Portland’s Steve Hetzel to join his bench as an assistant, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hetzel’s training includes a season as a HC for G-League Canton (where Fernandez was HIS assistant) and then seven seasons working with the intelligent Steve Clifford in Charlotte and Orlando. Hetzel acted as HC for Portland’s 2022 Summer League team that won the Las Vegas championship—with Nets pending restricted free agent Trendon Watford the MVP in the Finals win over the Knicks.
Marks, in my opinion, made a risky bet by going with Fernandez over a more established candidate like former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. However, I must also leave open the possibility that Fernandez is the right man at the right time for this job.