Mediation In Wolves’ Ownership Dispute Scheduled For May 1
A mediation session regarding the Timberwolves‘ ownership dispute between Glen Taylor and a group led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez has been scheduled for May 1 in Minneapolis, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Lore and Rodriguez had agreed to a succession plan that would see them gradually buy into the Timberwolves before taking over majority control of the franchise this year. They previously purchased a 36% stake in the team and had been prepared to buy another 40% before Taylor announced last month that he was nixing the deal and retaining majority control of the Wolves.
Taylor claimed at the time that the deadline in the purchase agreement had passed without Lore and Rodriguez making their final payment, while Lore and Rodriguez insisted that they had the capital on hand and were awaiting NBA approval.
The incoming ownership group indicated that there was language in the purchase agreement that should give them a 90-day extension to secure that approval from the league, and expressed confidence that they’ll eventually gain majority control of the franchise.
Within an in-depth look at the ownership dispute, Joe Pompliano of Huddle Up says that if the mediation process doesn’t result in a resolution, the matter will be heard by a three-person arbitration committee — one member of that committee would be picked by Taylor, one would be chosen by Rodriguez and Lore, and the third would be mutually agreed upon by the two sides.
If the issue still isn’t solved at that point, it would go to court. Pompliano suggests Taylor, who would be on his “home turf” and previously served as a senator in Minnesota, would feel as if he had the advantage in that situation. However, sources close to the situation who spoke to Pompliano feel that the battle will eventually end with Lore and Rodriguez taking over majority control.
Here are a few more items of interest from Pompliano’s report:
- The 36% stake that Lore and Rodriguez purchased so far has come entirely out of Taylor’s initial 70% share, rather than the remaining 30% controlled by about a dozen minority stakeholders. Some of those minority owners have been “looking for liquidity for years” but haven’t been able to cash out yet due to the nature of the purchase agreement, per Pompliano.
- Because Lore’s and Rodriguez’s shares so far have come entirely out of Taylor’s portion of the team, his stake would have fallen to 34%. However, Taylor “quietly” purchased a 2.96% share from limited partner Bill Sexton to ensure that he retained control of more of the team (37%) than Lore and Rodriguez (36%). According to Pompliano, there are questions about why Taylor would do that unless he was preparing to retain majority control of the team and nix the sale agreement.
- Pompliano hears from sources that Minnesota’s hiring of Tim Connelly as president of basketball operations and the trade for Rudy Gobert were spearheaded by Lore/Rodriguez and received resistance from Taylor, which A-Rod has suggested in recent media interviews (Twitter video link).
- Pompliano confirms reporting from Wojnarowski that Lore and Rodriguez submitted a payroll projection for next season that came in below the projected luxury tax line. However, Pompliano hears that this is “relatively normal,” and that many team owners submit lower projections before revising them later — especially if the club has postseason success.
Injury Updates: Vanderbilt, Kawhi, Giannis, Suggs, Anderson, Allen
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who hasn’t played since February 1 due to a right midfoot sprain, is targeting a Game 3 return, a source familiar with the situation tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
According to McMenamin’s source, Vanderbilt has been ramping up his workouts in the past couple weeks and had one of his most intense on-court sessions yet on Monday. His availability on Thursday will be determined based on how his body responds to that increased intensity.
As previously reported, Lakers big man Christian Wood (left knee surgery) is also aiming to make it back for Game 3 vs. Denver. It remains to be seen how much the team would use Vanderbilt and Wood – and how effective they’d be – following long layoffs. Still, given that they’re in a 2-0 hole against the Nuggets, head coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers will likely welcome all the help they can get as they look for a way to beat the defending champions.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (knee inflammation) is considered questionable to play in Game 2 vs. Dallas on Tuesday, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard took part in Monday’s practice, though head coach Tyronne Lue described it as a walk-through session with no contact.
- Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf strain) went through a “pretty good, brisk workout” on Sunday, then had a “maintenance day” on Monday, per head coach Doc Rivers (story via Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). While Antetokounmpo appears to be making some progress in his recovery, he’s listed as doubtful to play in Game 2 vs. Indiana on Tuesday.
- Magic guard Jalen Suggs was carried off the court in the first quarter of Monday’s Game 2 with what appeared to be a significant left knee injury, but he was able to return and play for most of the second half, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Suggs, whose injury was initially diagnosed as a left knee strain, expects to remain available going forward. “I’m good,” he said. “I was able to finish. It will be cool to get back home and get treatment for a couple of days. We play Thursday at 7 p.m. and I’ll be ready.”
- Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson was able to practice on Monday, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, but he’s listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game due to a right hip pointer. Suns wing Grayson Allen is also considered questionable to suit up for that contest after spraining his right ankle in Game 1, tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
2024 Pre-Lottery NBA Draft Order
The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Monday, further cementing the draft order for 2024. While we’ll have to wait until the May 12 draft lottery to learn the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 58 selections look like.
Listed below is the pre-lottery 2024 NBA draft order. Each lottery team’s chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick is noted in parentheses. We’ve also included notes for picks whose status remains up in the air depending on the lottery results.
[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Lottery Odds]
The second-round draft order for teams with identical regular season records is the inverse of their first-round order. This rule applies even when one club made the playoffs and one didn’t. For instance, the 46-36 Heat will pick ahead of the 46-36 Kings in the second round.
We’ll provided an updated list after the May 12 lottery, once the official draft order is set, but here’s the tentative 2024 NBA draft order:
First Round:
- Detroit Pistons (14.0%)
- Washington Wizards (14.0%)
- Charlotte Hornets (13.3%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (13.2%)
- San Antonio Spurs (10.5%)
- Toronto Raptors (9.0%)
- Note: The Spurs will receive this pick if it falls out of the top six (54.2%).
- Memphis Grizzlies (7.5%)
- Utah Jazz (6.0%)
- Note: The Thunder will receive this pick if it falls out of the top 10 (0.5%).
- Houston Rockets (from Nets) (4.5%)
- Atlanta Hawks (3.0%)
- Chicago Bulls (2.0%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets) (1.5%)
- Note: The Rockets will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (7.2%).
- Note: The Rockets will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (7.2%).
- Sacramento Kings (0.8%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors) (0.7%)
- Note: The Warriors will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (3.4%).
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Note: The Pelicans have until June 1 to decide whether they want to acquire this pick or instead acquire the Lakers’ unprotected 2025 first-round pick.
- Orlando Magic
- Toronto Raptors (from Pacers)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Bucks)
- Phoenix Suns
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Pelicans)
- New York Knicks (from Mavericks)
- New York Knicks
- Washington Wizards (from Clippers)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz (from Thunder)
- Boston Celtics
Second Round:
- Toronto Raptors (from Pistons)
- Utah Jazz (from Wizards)
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Trail Blazers)
- Note: This pick would move to No. 34 if the Trail Blazers end up with a higher first-round pick than the Hornets via the lottery.
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Hornets)
- Note: This pick would move to No. 33 if the Trail Blazers end up with a higher first-round pick than the Hornets via the lottery.
- San Antonio Spurs
- Indiana Pacers (from Raptors)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Grizzlies)
- New York Knicks (from Jazz)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Nets)
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Hawks)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Bulls)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Rockets)
- Miami Heat
- Houston Rockets (from Warriors)
- Note: This pick would move to No. 45 if the Warriors end up with a higher first-round pick than the Kings via the lottery.
- Sacramento Kings
- Note: This pick would move to No. 44 if the Warriors end up with a higher first-round pick than the Kings via the lottery.
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
- Orlando Magic
- San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
Philadelphia 76ers- Note: The Sixers forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
- Indiana Pacers (from Cavaliers)
- Indiana Pacers (from Pelicans)
- Washington Wizards (from Suns)
- Golden State Warriors (from Bucks)
- Detroit Pistons (from Knicks)
- Boston Celtics (from Mavericks)
- Los Angeles Lakers (from Clippers)
- Denver Nuggets (from Timberwolves)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Thunder)
Phoenix Suns (from Nuggets)- Note: The Suns forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
- Dallas Mavericks (from Celtics)
2024 NBA Draft Lottery Odds
The NBA will be using its revamped lottery system for the sixth time this year. The format, instituted in 2019, smoothed out the odds for top picks, reducing the league’s worst team’s chance of getting the No. 1 selection from 25.0% to 14.0%.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: NBA Draft Lottery]
The changes had an immediate impact in 2019, when the Pelicans and Grizzlies were tied for the seventh-best lottery odds, but jumped up to No. 1 and 2, respectively, allowing them to land Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
In 2020, the Bulls and Hornets landed picks in the top four despite entering lottery night with the seventh- and eighth-best odds, respectively. That stroke of luck was especially meaningful in Charlotte, where the Hornets were able to land LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick.
The lottery results since 2021 have featured fewer surprises. Perhaps, after a few relatively by-the-numbers lottery outcomes in a row, we’ll see a more significant shake-up in 2024. This year’s draft lottery will take place on Sunday, May 12.
With the help of data from Tankathon.com – which is worth checking out for all sorts of draft-related info – the draft lottery odds for 2024 are listed in the chart below.
The numbers in the chart indicate percentages, so the Pistons‘ pick, for instance, has a 14% chance of becoming the No. 1 selection and a 47.9% chance of ending up at No. 5. If a team’s odds are listed as >0, that percentage is below 0.1%. Odds are rounded to the nearest decimal place.
Here’s the full chart (if you’re on our mobile site or app and can’t see the whole thing, try turning your phone sideways):
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 47.9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| WSH | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 27.8 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CHA | 13.3 | 12.9 | 12.4 | 11.7 | 15.3 | 27.1 | 7.4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| POR | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 11.7 | 6.8 | 24.6 | 16.4 | 2.2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| SAS | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 19.6 | 26.7 | 8.7 | 0.6 | – | – | – | – | – |
| TOR* | 9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.6 | – | 8.6 | 29.8 | 20.6 | 3.7 | 0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| MEM | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.5 | – | – | 19.7 | 34.1 | 12.9 | 1.3 | >0 | – | – | – |
| UTH* | 6 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | – | – | – | 34.5 | 32.1 | 6.7 | 0.4 | >0 | – | – |
| BKN* | 4.5 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.7 | – | – | – | – | 50.7 | 25.9 | 3 | 0.1 | >0 | – |
| ATL | 3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 65.9 | 19 | 1.2 | >0 | >0 |
| CHI | 2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 77.6 | 12.6 | 0.4 | >0 |
| HOU* | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 86.1 | 6.7 | 0.1 |
| SAC | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1 | 1.1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 92.9 | 3.3 |
| GSW* | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 96.6 |
Notes:
- The Raptors‘ pick will be sent to the Spurs if it lands outside the top six.
- The Jazz‘s pick will be sent to the Thunder if it lands outside the top 10.
- The Nets‘ pick will be sent to the Rockets.
- The Rockets‘ pick will be sent to the Thunder if it lands outside the top four.
- The Warriors‘ pick will be sent to the Trail Blazers if it lands outside the top four.
The full pre-lottery 2024 draft order can be found right here.
2024 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results
Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery.
The results are as follows, according to a press release from the league:
- Charlotte Hornets (No. 3) over Portland Trail Blazers (No. 4).
- Note: The Hornets will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Trail Blazers.
- Sacramento Kings (No. 13) over Golden State Warriors (No. 14)
- Note: The Kings will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Warriors.
- Note: The Warriors will send their pick to the Trail Blazers unless it moves into the top four.
- Philadelphia 76ers (No. 16) over Los Angeles Lakers (No. 17) over Orlando Magic (No. 18) over Indiana Pacers (No. 19)
- Note: The Pelicans have until June 1 to decide whether to acquire the Lakers’ pick or defer it to 2025.
- Note: The Pacers will send their pick to the Raptors.
- Milwaukee Bucks (No. 21) over Phoenix Suns (No. 22) over New Orleans Pelicans (No. 23).
- Note: The Pelicans will exercise their swap rights with the Bucks and move up to No. 21.
- Dallas Mavericks (No. 24) over New York Knicks (No. 25).
- Note: The Mavericks will send their pick to the Knicks.
- Denver Nuggets (No. 28) over Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 29).
- Note: The Thunder will send their pick to the Jazz.
While the tiebreaker winner will pick ahead of the loser(s) in the first round, that order will be flipped in the second round. For instance, the Pacers’ second-round pick (traded to the Clippers) will be at No. 46, followed by the Magic at No. 47, and the Lakers (traded to San Antonio) at No. 48. Philadelphia’s second-round pick (which would have been No. 49) is forfeited due a previous free agency violation.
For lottery teams that finished with identical records, the second-round order is still to be determined depending on the lottery results.
For example, if the Trail Blazers win the No. 1 overall pick on lottery night and Charlotte slips to No. 5, the Hornets’ pick in the second round would be at No. 33, while Portland’s would be at No. 34 (Charlotte has traded its second-rounder to Portland, however, while the Blazers have sent theirs to Milwaukee).
Heat Notes: Butler, Jovic, Jaquez, Wright, Adebayo
As they look to bounce back after a Game 1 loss in Boston, the Heat can’t count on Jimmy Butler to return at some point later in the first round to give them a boost. While the team hasn’t provided any sort of official timetable on Butler’s recovery from an MCL sprain, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) that the star swingman is going to remain on the shelf for a while.
“It’s crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played three quarters with what I’m hearing now was a severe MCL sprain,” Charania said. “He is not going to be back in this series. This is a rehab that’s go at least one month — could be two months of rehab.
“… Thankfully for him it wasn’t the ACL, it wasn’t a meniscus. But even if the Heat were to advance (beyond) this first round, somehow, his postseason availability is still very much up in the air.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Although Miami suffered a resounding loss in Game 1 on Sunday, there were at least a couple silver linings, as Anthony Chiang writes in a pair of stories for The Miami Herald. The team’s last two first-round picks – Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez – made the first playoff starts of their respective careers and ultimately held their own despite some shaky moments in the first quarter. Additionally, buyout market addition Delon Wright came up big off the bench, scoring 17 points and making all five of his three-point attempts. Wright figures to play a regular role in the series with Terry Rozier (neck) sidelined.
- The odds are against the Heat repeating last spring’s success and making another deep playoff run, but even in the event of a first-round exit, the team should be well positioned for the offseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Appearing on NBA Countdown (YouTube link), Wojnarowski said he expects a lot of action on the trade market this summer and pointed out that Miami is almost among the preferred destinations for disgruntled stars. That didn’t do the Heat much good in the Damian Lillard talks last summer, but the team should have more leverage with trade targets who have fewer years left on their contracts, Woj adds.
- William Guillory of The Athletic takes a look at how Bam Adebayo became Udonis Haslem‘s successor as a pillar of “Heat Culture” and how the big man plans to uphold that ethos for years to come.
Latest On NBA’s Media Rights Negotiations
With the exclusive negotiating window for the NBA, ESPN, and TNT Sports set to close at the end of the day on Monday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic checks in on where things stand for the league and its next media rights deal, with the current agreement set to expire at the end of the 2024/25 season.
As Marchand details, ESPN/ABC and TNT remain “intensely” interested in retaining their NBA rights and may well do so, but the league anticipates reaching deals on at least three separate TV packages – and possibly four – so at least one new partner is expected to enter the mix.
While the league will almost certainly talk to major streamers like Netflix, Apple, and Google/YouTube, the perceived favorite among those streamers is Amazon Prime Video, according to Marchand, who observes that Amazon has had success with an NFL Thursday Night Football package. Amazon is only interested in an NBA deal if it can secure a regular season and postseason package of “high-level” games, sources tell Marchand.
NBC, which was a key NBA partner during the era in which Michael Jordan‘s Bulls won six championships, remains interested in reuniting with the league, Marchand writes. NBC Universal chairman Mark Lazarus was with TNT when it brought the NBA to its network and has close ties with top league officials, per Marchand, who adds that NBC could incorporate its own streaming service (Peacock) into a potential agreement.
Back in 2014, the NBA struck a nine-year, $24 billion agreement with ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports well before their exclusive negotiating window closed, but the negotiations this time around are more complex, given the changing media landscape and the league’s desire to make streaming its principal distribution method, Marchand writes.
Here’s more from The Athletic’s report:
- The NBA is seeking contracts of at least 10 years in its next media deal, according to Marchand.
- The league is expected to look into the idea of partnering with a company like ESPN, Amazon, Apple, or Google/YouTube (or possibly more than one of them) to offer local games direct to viewers, Marchand says. The model the NBA is considering wouldn’t give those outlets exclusive local rights, but would be intended to give as many fans as possible access to games locally as cable diminishes.
- Currently, ABC airs the NBA Finals, while ESPN and TNT show the conference finals. Those companies want to retain those high-end playoff series, but the idea of a streamer like Amazon getting the rights to conference finals or even NBA Finals games at some point in the next decade is a real possibility, says Marchand.
- Given the increasing popularity of women’s college basketball stars, led by Caitlin Clark, there’s optimism about the WNBA receiving a significant bump in viewership in the coming years. WNBA media rights will be part of these negotiations, and – as Marchand puts it – the women’s league has “more currency in these negotiations than the last ones by a wide margin.”
Atlantic Notes: Hetzel, Nets, Maxey, Thibodeau, Celtics
The Nets are hiring veteran assistant coach Steve Hetzel to be part of Jordi Fernandez‘s new staff in Brooklyn, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Hetzel was an assistant coach in Portland for the past three seasons under Chauncey Billups. Prior to his stint with the Blazers, he worked on Steve Clifford‘s staffs in both Charlotte (2014-18) and Orlando (2018-21).
Perhaps most notably, Hetzel was the head coach of the Canton Charge in the G League during the 2013/14 season. Fernandez was an assistant on his staff that year before taking over as the Charge’s head coach for the next two seasons after that.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Sixers have listed guard Tyrese Maxey as questionable to play in Game 2 on Monday due to an illness that forced him to miss this morning’s shootaround, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- In an anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic, 47% of the respondents named Tom Thibodeau as the head coach they’d least want to play for. However, Thibodeau’s Knicks players were prepared to go to bat for him, as Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. “Nobody’s in our locker room and everybody that talks is on the outside of our locker room. They don’t know what goes on,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “Thibs is a great leader. He’s a great head coach and he’s done an amazing job this year not only dealing with injuries in and out of the lineup but also getting the best out of every single player on our team. I’m having a career year. Different guys on the team are having career years.”
- The Celtics have made at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five of the last seven postseason but haven’t won a title during that time. Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores how last year’s additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday give the team a new dimension and raise its ceiling entering the 2024 playoffs.
- Porzingis passed a key test in Game 1 on Sunday vs. Miami, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com, scoring 18 points and finishing as a +17 in his 34 minutes. Porzingis – who had only played in 10 playoff games, including none since 2021 – lacks the extensive postseason experience of his fellow Celtics starters, but he showed on Sunday that he’s up to the challenge with the stakes raised, says Robb.
Zaccharie Risacher Entering 2024 NBA Draft
As expected, potential No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher has submitted paperwork to the NBA to make himself eligible for the 2024 draft, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
A 6’10” French forward who turned 19 earlier this month, Risacher has been playing professionally in his home country since 2021. He spent this season with JL Bourg, which competes in France’s top league (LNB Pro A) and finished as the runner-up in this year’s EuroCup tournament.
Risacher was excellent during EuroCup competition, averaging 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game with a .566/.561/.659 shooting line in 17 games (24.0 MPG), per Basketball-Reference. He has put up 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.0 APG on .426/.341/.721 shooting in 27 LNB Pro A contests.
Givony describes Risacher as a prospect who plays “mistake-free, intelligent” basketball on both ends of the court, noting that he has shown good range on his jump shot and strong versatility on defense. He would be a good fit on virtually any NBA roster and still has plenty of room to continue developing, Givony adds.
“There are a lot of things I can bring an NBA team,” Risacher said. “First of all — my number one strength is my shooting. Then my defensive ability after that. And lastly, my ability to do what’s asked of me, using my versatility — I can rebound, handle the ball if needed, finish above the rim, pass the ball. Whatever you ask me to do I will do it and do it well.”
Risacher has been the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s big board for the last several updates, having surpassed fellow Frenchman Alexandre Sarr earlier this year.
Nets Officially Hire Jordi Fernandez As Head Coach
The Nets have made it official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve named Jordi Fernandez their new head coach. Word officially broke last Monday that Brooklyn had decided to hire Fernandez.
“As we progressed through an extensive search over the past six weeks, it became increasingly clear that Jordi is the best coach to lead our team forward,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Jordi brings a diverse set of experiences and basketball knowledge gained over the course of a coaching career that has taken him around the world.
“Each step of the way, Jordi has consistently demonstrated the ability to implement strong processes and creative systems designed to optimize each team’s specific roster. He’s proven the ability to build genuine relationships and garner the respect of players of all levels, and we’re confident that our players will benefit greatly from his expertise.”
Fernandez has spent the past two seasons as the associate head coach on Mike Brown‘s Kings staff. Prior to arriving in Sacramento, he was an assistant under Michael Malone in Denver from 2016-22, the head coach of the Canton Charge in the G League from 2014-16, a Charge assistant in 2013/14, and a player development coach for the Cavaliers from 2009-13.
Fernandez, who has long been considered a future NBA head coach and interviewed for jobs in Phoenix and Toronto last spring, led the Canadian national team to a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The expectation is that he’ll coach the Canadians again this summer at the Paris Olympics, though it figures to be a busy offseason as he prepares for his new job in Brooklyn.
“I am truly grateful to lead the Nets as head coach and cannot thank (Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai) and Sean enough for this exciting and humbling opportunity,” Fernandez said in a statement. “My family and I are thrilled to join such an incredible organization and become part of the vibrant Brooklyn community. I am eager to get to work with this talented group of players and collectively drive our team forward. Together, we will be fully committed to building something special for Nets fans and the borough to be proud of for years to come.”
The Nets parted ways with former head coach Jacque Vaughn in February, replacing him on an interim basis with Kevin Ollie. While Ollie received some consideration for the permanent job, he wasn’t among the group of reported finalists that also included veteran head coach Mike Budenholzer and Suns assistant Kevin Young.
Following last Monday’s report that the Nets had chosen Fernandez, one report indicated that Budenholzer’s contract demands were “rather high” in terms of both years and dollars. That same report noted that former Hornets head coach James Borrego also received serious consideration from Brooklyn. Young, meanwhile, has since accepted the head coaching job at BYU.