Jordi Fernandez’s stay with Sacramento just ended on Friday night and he still hasn’t officially been unveiled as the Nets’ head coach yet.
But he’s already putting in work for Brooklyn, building out his future staff.
The 41-year-old Fernandez — who beat out the likes of former NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer and Suns assistant-turned-BYU coach Kevin Young for the Nets job — is bringing on his former boss Steve Hetzel as an assistant.
The news was first reported by ESPN on Sunday, and confirmed by the Post.
It’s unclear where Hetzel would rank on the staff, but it’s certainly possible that he could be the top assistant.
He’s spent the last three seasons with the Trail Blazers as a member of head coach Chauncey Billups’ staff.
He was head coach of Portland’s Summer League team that won the 2022 title in Las Vegas.
Before Portland, Hetzel had been an assistant with the Orlando Magic from 2018-2021, and the Charlotte Hornets for the four seasons preceding that. But his ties with Fernandez are much older, first formed in Ohio.
Like Fernandez, Hetzel worked under Mike Brown, spending three years as the video coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was head coach of the G League Canton Charge for a season – finishing second in the East in 2013-14 – with Fernandez as an assistant.
Fernandez succeeded him in Canton and now is bringing him to Brooklyn.
Together, they’ll look to instill some much-needed grit and defense into a team that had a disappointing lack of both, taking the fewest charges in the tracking era, only nine all season.
For perspective, Nets big man Blake Griffin drew a league-high 26 all by himself in just 56 games back in 2021-22.
