How the hiring of David Vanterpool as assistant coach can help the Brooklyn Nets in the 2021-2022 NBA season
The Brooklyn Nets are looking to add David Vanterpool to their coaching team this summer and are close to completing the deal. Vanterpool has been coaching since 2007 and has been doing so in the NBA since 2012, most recently with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After seven years with the Portland Trail Blazers and two with the T-Wolves, Vanterpool now has a chance to work on a premier team in the league with title aspirations and some of the greatest talent in basketball history. In this article, we will examine why the Brooklyn Nets have brought him onboard and how he can help.
Brooklyn Nets bolster coaching team with David Vanterpool's expected appointment
David Vanterpool's name has been in coaching decisions for a number of years now after supposedly being linked with a move to the Brooklyn Nets prior to this season. There was also a lot of backlash around the league when he was overlooked by the Timberwolves for their head coaching job back in February, something Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum voiced their frustrations about on social media - both of whom he coached while in Portland.
Vanterpool certainly has the resume to be a head coach in the NBA and now has the chance to work on a team fighting for a chip. The 48-year-old will help the Brooklyn Nets in a number of ways, most importantly in helping to coach their 'Big Three', something he was used to with the Trail Blazers. He was said to be a particular favorite of both Lillard and McCollum in their rise to star status.
David Vanterpool will inevitably replace Ime Udoka, who left to take up the head coaching job with the Boston Celtics. The Brooklyn Nets will have in mind the help he can offer the team on defense, an area of their game in which they suffered this season and where he helped both the Trail Blazers and Timberwolves,
As a player, David Vanterpool went undrafted before playing for numerous teams in Europe and China. He also played 22 games for the Washington Wizards in 2001 before going back overseas, where he later won a EuroLeague championship with CSKA Moscow both as a player and later as an assistant coach.
Vanterpool has experience of winning titles from his time in Europe and has developed into one of the most-admired assistant coaches in the NBA. It won't be long until he is in charge of his own team, but for now the Brooklyn Nets are certainly continuing to add firepower to their organization.