This season has been a tough one for the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors, and that includes head coach Steve Kerr.
Not only have the Dubs struggled in their bid to defend their crown, but Kerr also watched as his good friend and former Warriors consultant Steve Nash was fired by the Nets just seven games into the season.
The Nets have turned things around under Nash's replacement, Jacque Vaughn, but Kerr, speaking to reporters ahead of the Nets' blowout of the Warriors at Barclay's Center on Wednesday, doesn't seem especially impressed by Vaughn's handiwork.
While Kerr did say that Vaughn "deserves credit" for helping the Nets "get through the storm," he also cited the team's "health" as the primary reason for the turnaround, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
“It’s not a surprise to me that he’s doing well and that the team is doing well because it’s really been a matter of health,” Kerr said. “Things seem to have settled down and they’ve gotten healthy. Not a surprise that they’re clicking, but Jacque deserves credit for helping them get through the storm.”
Kerr struck a similar chord upon Nash's firing in November, when he praised Nash as "brilliant" and lamented that he didn't have a more "stable" situation to work in -- as if Nash didn't play a role in that lack of stability.
But things have changed now. Obviously, Kerr has his own team to worry about first and foremost, so it's not necessarily fair to expect him to know the daily twists and turns of the Nets, let alone any other team.
Still, his apparent dismissal of Vaughn's performance was a pretty substantial undersell.
While Vaughn has in fact helped stabilize the once-flailing team, they were arguably healthier under Nash than they have been since, with Ben Simmons and breakout sixth man Yuta Watanabe both missing stretches due to injury. As well, Vaughn's promotion coincided with the eight-game suspension of Kyrie Irving, who has played well and kept his head down since returning.
In addition to the apparent improvement in chemistry, Vaughn's in-game performance has been much better than his predecessor's, with more sensible rotations and keener usage of timeouts to stem unfavorable momentum swings.
All told, the Nets were 2-5 under Nash, while Vaughn has gone 18-7, including a current seven-game winning streak.
On social media, journalists and Nets fans were quick to pounce on Kerr's thoughts on Vaughn and the Nets.
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