Nets to turn to Kings' top assistant to fill HC opening

The head coach of Canada's national team, Fernandez's star has risen the past two seasons as a member of Sacramento's coaching staff. The Kings snapped a 16-year postseason drought last year and will play in the play-in tournament against the Warriors on Tuesday night.

Last year, ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted he was a finalist for the Suns job that went to Frank Vogel, while he also interviewed for openings with the Raptors and Bucks.

For Sacramento, losing Fernandez, its "connective tissue," will be a blow. The opposite is the case for Brooklyn. 

He was a former assistant under Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, who praised him in Windhorst's piece.

"He's going to be a head coach in the NBA ... He's a good person who knows the game and has a great ability to communicate as well as build relationships with players," Malone said.

Fernandez has a difficult job in front of him. The Nets went 32-50 this season, a 13-win decrease from last year.

They currently don't have a pick in this year's draft, and the rarely available Ben Simmons ($40.3M) is the team's highest-paid player.

But the cupboard isn't completely bare. Shooting guard Cam Thomas and small forward Mikal Bridges have strong offensive games, while Nic Claxton is one of the Eastern Conference's best defensive centers.

The Nets should still be patient with Fernandez, the franchise's fourth full-time head coach in the past six seasons. 

Known as a strong player developer, he could be instrumental in the development of rookies Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead, players who weren't used often in 2023-24 but will need to take on bigger roles next season.

Fernandez is also a defensive-minded coach who should have the Nets more active on that end of the court after they finished the season 28th in steals.

Brooklyn appears to have made a strong choice for its next head coach. The only thing going against the Nets is their recent history, which Fernandez hopes not to repeat.