LAS VEGAS — Months before the Nets decided to rebuild, Jordi Fernandez — even back when he was interviewing for the head-coaching job with general manager Sean Marks — knew Brooklyn might trade Mikal Bridges.
And he was all for it if that was the path to sustainable success.
“I mean, Sean said it, that I was going through a process,” Fernandez said. “We know that we wanted to do something sustainable and we wanted to win and build something very special. There were different avenues to do it, and this was a possible one.
“We just couldn’t control if something [big came], what other teams would offer, so we’d just have to sit and wait. And he had his different avenues to get there. When the opportunity presented itself, he called me. I knew before it came out to the media, and I was very excited because I know how the NBA works and I know how good you can get when you have assets, flexibility and so and so forth. So I’m just very excited.”
After the Nets suffered through a 32-50 season — their worst since 2017-18 — Marks and owner Joe Tsai not only moved on from interim coach Kevin Ollie but were mulling pivoting into a rebuild.
Fernandez — who’d been voted the NBA’s best assistant by Marks’ counterparts — was told as much during the interview process.
“It’s very important to be upfront when you’re hiring a coach — or any staff member for that matter — for them to know there’s a variety of different pathways we can go down,” Marks said. “We knew the flexibility that we had in terms of the roster, the cap, the salaries that we have, this [outcome] could be one of them. We’re not going to shy away from that. So, he knew well ahead that this was an avenue that we could be going down and has bought in completely.”
Brooklyn hired Fernandez on April 22, and agreed to trade Bridges just over two months later, on June 25.
Both the trade and the haul the Nets got back from the Knicks — five first-round picks and a swap qualifying as that “something big” Marks was holding out for — shocked the entire NBA.
But not Fernandez.
“Because I don’t have social media, I had people texting me during dinner. My phone was blowing up, and I already knew because my boss called me and he told me,” Fernandez said at Team Canada’s training camp. “So, very, very excited. Obviously on board with the path that we’re taking, and I think that’s gonna just take us to that level that we want to get to.”
That’s not due to any lack of respect for Bridges on the part of Fernandez, who will coach Canada in Wednesday’s tuneup against Team USA and then in the Paris Olympics.
It’s just an admission of where the Nets sit in their rebuild.
“I had a lot of respect for Mikal. I had it before I got the job, but also after I got to work with him for the weeks that I was with him,” Fernandez said. “I can only say amazing things about him. He’s a true pro and he’s a player that is considered one of the best players in this league. That’s why we got what we got for him.
“He’s going to be in a winning team, so I’m happy for him. We’re gonna be building something very special, so I’m very happy for us. … I just know what’s in front of us, what’s the adversity that we’re going to face. My job is going to be to be a problem-solver and make those guys work, make the program, build a culture and identity and that’s how we’re going to go with it.”
