The Brooklyn Nets have officially used this season to begin their rebuild, where Jordi Fernandez has officially taken over as the team's head coach.
Fernandez has made his presence felt in his first season in Brooklyn, changing the culture for the better.
The Nets, despite their struggles, have been competitive this season, large in part due to Fernandez's touch on the roster, which is why Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes praised him, believing him to be a Coach of the Year candidate.
"Brooklyn had no business playing competitive, hard-edged basketball all season, especially as trades stripped the roster of talent. The Nets' demeanor was not that of a tanking team, and head coach Jordi Fernandez deserves most of the credit for coaxing real effort and commitment out of a roster designed to fail," Hughes writes.
Fernandez didn't lead the Nets to enough wins to truly warrant consideration from the league, but he did a lot with a little. Brooklyn had one of the most disjointed rosters in the entire league, yet Fernandez kept the group ready all season long.
If Fernandez was able to do all of what he did with a minimal roster of talent, he could do so much more once the Nets bring some top-level talent into the building.
Brooklyn will have a chance to do that with the most cap space in the NBA this offseason, and the team will likely be aggressive in bringing people into the program that coach Fernandez helped build this season.
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