New Brooklyn Nets Head Coach to Emphasize Player Development

Jordi Fernandez targeted "player development-oriented coaches" for his first NBA staff.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On May 10, Inside The Nets broke down the Brooklyn Nets' lack of player development since the new millennium. Over the last two decades, just five of Brooklyn's 21 all-star appearances achieved their first selection with the franchise.

Rookie head coach Jordi Fernandez is wasting no time tackling this glaring issue.

In an article from the New York Post, Fernandez explained the importance of player development heading into his first season leading the organization on the court. He brought on assistant coaches Steve Hetzel, Juan Howard, Connor Griffin, Travis Bader and Deividas Dulkys while retaining Jay Hernandez, Adam Caporn, Corey Vinson and Ryan Forehan-Kelly.

"We decided as an organization, with the front office and myself, to build the coaching staff in this way because we feel that's what fits myself and what we're trying to do better," Fernandez said. "There's no better player development in the world than playing real minutes, and we value real minutes."

The achilles heel of the Nets over the last 20 years has been the desire for instant gratification. Attempting to create super teams through the avenues of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce or James Harden all resulted in massive failures. Neither of the experiments worked and se the franchise back years in terms of their plan for contention. Fernandez offers a new approach, which has been the blueprint for some of the league's currently most dominant teams.

"Making players better is important. We have all the resources we need to help our guys get better."

Time will tell all, but it's refreshing to see a new approach from a Brooklyn head coach that does not involve leveraging their future success in a risky attempt to win now.

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