Nets, Marks 'Hit the Jackpot' With New Head Coach

Jordi Fernandez's hiring has received high praise around the league.

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez gestures during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

After an endless cycle of coaches since the beginning of 2020, the Brooklyn Nets may have finally found their man.

Back in 2022, NBA Champion Mike Malone of the Denver Nuggets gushed about his former assistant Jordi Fernandez's future as a head coach.

“I think one day Jordi will be a head coach in this league,” he said courtesy of The Sacramento Bee. “He’s been a head coach in the G League. He’s got great international experience."

The word on Fernandez has been out for years. It was only going to be a matter of time until a franchise made him their lead man, and the Nets decided to strike after a season in which the 41-year-old was voted the NBA's top assistant.

General manager Sean Marks' decision to trust Fernandez has been met with extremely high praise, some even going as far as vowing confidence in the GM's job security because of the hire.

“Jordi is going to save him. He hit the jackpot with that guy,” an anonymous league insider told NetsDaily.

So far, all indications point to the source being correct. It's unknown whether Marks' job was presently in jeopardy, but Brooklyn certainly hit the jackpot with Fernandez. Players buying into a coach's philosophy as they have, especially when said coach spent the majority of his first offseason leading another country at the Olympics, is not only rare. It's special.

The Nets finally got their guy.

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