Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel has made quite the impact throughout his NBA coaching career and that’s why Jordi Fernandez asked him to be part of his coaching staff for the Nets. Brooklyn hasn’t won many games over the past two seasons due to the nature of the rebuild, but Hetzel appears to be making some progress towards achieving his own dream of leading an NBA team someday.
“I’ve heard both Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Brooklyn’s Steve Hetzel have made strong impressions on Pelicans officials in their discussions to date,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported for The Stein Line on Thursday. The Athletic’s Will Guillory reported in late April that Hetzel officially conducted an interview for the New Orleans Pelicans’ vacant head-coaching position.
Hetzel has interviewed for head coach positions in the past, most notably last summer with the Phoenix Suns before they chose Jordan Ott, a former Nets assistant coach. Even if Hetzel doesn’t get the Pelicans job, he still has some security in the sense that Brooklyn recently signed Fernandez and the entire coaching staff to extensions shortly after the season ended.
Hetzel has been working in the NBA since the 2005-2006 season when he was an assistant video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs under legendary head coach Gregg Popovich. Since 2009, Hetzel has found himself in various coaching positions, including being the head coach of the then-D League’s Canton Charge, before spending a few seasons as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Portland Trail Blazers.
While some of the candidates for the Pelicans head coach position are unknown as of this writing, Hetzel is at least competing with interim head coach James Borrego and Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Harm. Both of those men have had varied levels of success as a head coach in the NBA, but it’s possible that Hetzel could beat out both of those guys as he’s looking for his first chance to lead an NBA sideline after over 20 years of hard work.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Report: Nets’ Steve Hetzel makes strong impression for Pelicans HC job
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
