With Jordi Fernández locked in, the Nets seek cornerstone players
While the next big date for the Brooklyn Nets is May 10 the franchise has stabilized the coaching staff for the immediate future. The post With Jordi Fernández locked in, the Nets seek cornerstone players appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
Black News 
While the next big date for the Brooklyn Nets is May 10, when the NBA Draft Lottery will be held in Chicago, the franchise has stabilized the coaching staff for the immediate future. While NBA head coaching positions can be fluid, Nets owner Joseph Tsai has proven to believe in Jordi Fernández.
On Monday, eight days after completing his second season as the Nets’ head coach, Fernández and his entire coaching staff signed multi-year extensions to continue to be at the forefront of the Nets’ challenging construction project. Per team policy, the terms of the deals were not released.
In addition to Fernández, assistant coaches Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard, Jay Hernandez, Dutch Gaitley, Deividas Dulkys, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, Connor Griffin, Corey Vinson, and Travis Bader inked extensions.
“Jordi is a tremendous leader who, along with his coaching staff, put his stamp on this franchise from the moment he arrived in Brooklyn,” said Nets general manager Sean Marks in a written statement.
“Over his first two seasons, Jordi has built a strong foundation rooted in player development, a competitive spirit, and honest communication, all of which have been embraced throughout our roster. The energy and passion the entire staff relentlessly pour into our players reverberates throughout the organization, and we are excited to have this group continue to lead our franchise into the future.”
While the team’s 46-118 record under Fernandez has some questioning the decision to add more years onto his contract, he has done an excellent job of sending a clear message over two seasons: getting 1% better every game. No month demonstrated his coaching prowess more than December 2025, when Brooklyn posted a strong 7-4 record.
Fernández was also in the tough position of developing the league’s youngest roster, with an average age of 23.4 years old, while the organization’s leadership understandably desired securing the best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft. It’s debatable as to whether the Nets tanked by not regularly putting their best lineups on the floor in the season’s closing weeks. But by and large, the players put forth maximum effort and intent. The Nets just weren’t equipped to compete with more established rosters.
Brooklyn finished the season with one of the league’s worst three records at 20-62. The Washington Wizards were 17-65 and the Indiana Pacers 19-63. Each has a league-high 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the lottery.
No player flourished under Fernández more than Michael Porter Jr. In his first season with the Nets after being acquired in a trade with the Denver Nuggets last summer, Porter Jr., who won a championship with the Nuggets in 2023, had the best statistical season of his career, averaging career highs of 24.2 points and 3.0 assists in 52 games.
A consistent leadership trait that Fernández displayed was holding himself and the players accountable.
“I think that it goes through making mistakes, and I make a lot of mistakes in every game,” Fernández said on New Year’s Day. “I have a very good coaching staff that holds me accountable and helps me with that.
“I have to look at myself in the mirror,” he continued, “whether I’m trying to put a player in a situation or running a play for [a player]… accepting that you’re going to make mistakes, but your mistakes have to be honest mistakes because you try to do what is best for the group…”
The post With Jordi Fernández locked in, the Nets seek cornerstone players appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
