The Brooklyn Nets will hire Steve Hetzel as an assistant coach on the staff of Jordi Hernandez.

Hetzel has spent the past three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers under Chauncey Billups. Hetzel previously worked under Steve Clifford. 

The Brooklyn Nets will hire Jordi Fernandez as head coach.

Fernandez is currently the top assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings under Mike Brown. Before joining the Kings, Fernandez spent several seasons under Michael Malone with the Denver Nuggets. Fernandez was also a head coach in the G League with the Canton Charge and also currently serves as head coach of Canada.

The Nets parted ways with Jacque Vaughn as head coach in February and had Kevin Ollie as interim for the remainder of the season.

The Brooklyn Nets are closing in on finding their next head coach. Mike Budenholzer, Jordi Fernandez and Kevin Young are among the finalists to be the Nets next head coach. All three are meeting with Brooklyn governor Joe Tsai, and a decision is expected to be made soon.

Budenholzer spent five years apiece as the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks His team's made the playoffs in nine of those seasons, including winning the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks

Fernandez has worked on Mike Brown's staff with the Sacramento Kings for the past two seasons. He also spent six years as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets.

Kevin Young has been the Phoenix Suns associate head coach for the last three years. He also worked for the Philadelphia 76ers prior to heading to Phoenix in 2020.

Brooklyn fired Jacque Vaughn over the All-Star break. Kevin Ollie has served as the Nets interim head coach since Vaughn was fired.

The Brooklyn Nets have gone through a disappointing season, seeing their streak snapped after five consecutive playoff appearances. However, falling short of the postseason won't cost general manager Sean Marks his job. Marks will return to Brooklyn for the offseason and next season.

Marks' first order of business will be hiring a new head coach. The Nets are expected to undergo a wide-ranging search for their next coach. Brooklyn fired Jacque Vaughn after he got off to a 21-33 start this season. Kevin Ollie replaced Vaughn and has gone 11-16 as Brooklyn's interim head coach.

"Joe and I have always been in complete partnership," Marks said about hiring the next coach and his role in the process. "And it doesn’t mean we always agree. I mean, you have to have good discussions and robust discussions, but Joe and I will make this decision, and he has given me no reason to believe that I won’t be able to make that decision. By the end of this I have no doubt that we’ll come and find the best person fit for this job."

Ben Simmons has played in only 57 games during his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. Next season, Simmons will be on an expiring contract worth $40.3 million. That's led to speculation about what Brooklyn might do with Simmons, and his contract, this offseason.

One thing that seems off the table is a buyout. The Nets have given no indication they will look for Simmons to reduce his salary in a move that would send him into free agency.

Instead, Brooklyn is planning for Simmons to be a part of the roster next season. He's undergone successful back surgery, and the hope is that he'll be fine for summer workouts and pickup games.

Veteran guard Dennis Schroder has bounced around the NBA in recent years. Now, Schroder is hoping he'll stick with the Brooklyn Nets for a while. Schroder is under contract for just over $13 million for next season. With the Nets rebuilding, that will come with trade speculation.

"Of course. I always want to be stationed somewhere where people show me appreciation," Schroder told The New York Post about wanting to stay in Brooklyn. "And I felt that from the first day — people reaching out to my family, to my wife, to my mom. That shows, OK, they really [want me]. And the playing style, as well, I like. They trust me, in what I am capable of. And of course I want to stay.

"I know the business side of it as well. So, I’m not taking anything emotional or personal. I know how it is. But at the end of the day, of course I want to stay here. I met Joe [Tsai], the owner, his wife, his kid. And of course I want to build something special here. Everything they say, I’m preaching the same thing. And I’m the same player that they’re looking for, and it would be great to stay, for sure."

New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant is expected to be considered for the Brooklyn Nets vacant head coaching role, sources told Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.

Bryant has been with the Knicks since 2020.

The Nets' search for a candidate is expected to be wide-ranging due to their belief that they can continue adding to a core lead by Mikal Bridges.

The Brooklyn Nets turned down a trade offer from the Houston Rockets at the deadline involving Jalen Green and multiple first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, said Shams Charania on Run It Back.

"Taking us back two months ago, the Rockets called the Nets on Mikal Bridges and I'm told they discussed a concept around Jalen Green and multiple first-round picks.

"That deal was not accepted by the Brooklyn Nets, that didn't progress anywhere," said Charania.

Green is averaging 29.3 points per game over the Rockets nine-game win streak.

The Rockets are 0.5 games behind the Warriors for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.

Ben Simmons underwent a successful microscopic partial discectomy on Thursday to alleviate the nerve impingement in his lower back. The procedure was performed by Dr. Timur Urakov, in consultation with Dr. Barth Green, at UHealth Jackson Memorial Medical Center. Simmons is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp next season.

Simmons played in just 15 games with the Brooklyn Nets during the 23-24 season.

Simmons previously underwent back surgery in 2022.

The Brooklyn Nets announced that Ben Simmons will miss the remainder of the regular season due to a lower back impingement. The Nets said Simmons and his representatives will work with Brooklyn's medical personnel about the best way to treat him moving forward for long-term sustainable health.

Simmons appeared in only 15 games this season. Last season, Simmons played in 42 games for the Nets. He missed the entire previous season while holding out with the Philadelphia 76ers, and then rehabbing with Brooklyn.