Brooklyn, New York - On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets named their new head coach, and it's not Boston's Ime Udoka as everyone expected.

The former Boston Celtics head coach Udoka might have been a front-runner for the job, but it was Jacque Vaughn who won the position.

Vaughn had been serving as interim head coach since replacing former coach Steve Nash, who was relieved from his duties last week.

While the move comes as a surprise to fans who were expecting Udoka to fill the position, the Nets' executives may have made the best decision amid the heightened issues that the franchise is currently facing.

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Brooklyn's prolonged antisemitism controversy with veteran athlete Kyrie Irving has completely sidetracked the league's spotlight of hoops action on the court.

Coupled with Udoka's ongoing suspension in Boston for an improper relationship with a female subordinate, hiring the NBA champion-winning coach might have been a recipe for disaster.

Once Vaughn stabilized the team, perhaps his promotion made more sense to the Nets' front office.

In a statement, Nets manager Sean Marks said, "Jacque's basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization make him the clear-cut best person to lead our group moving forward."

He continued, "He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball."

Vaughn, who was in the middle of his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Nets, previously served as the team's head coach for 10 regular-season games during the 2019-20 season.

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The former NBA champion also served as the head coach for the Orlando Magic for from 2012 to 2015.

"JV is a great coach," Nets guard Joe Harris told reporters ahead of Wednesday's big announcement. "Having played in the NBA for a while, been a coach in the league for a while, having experience as a head coach, having a lot of experience now as an assistant, he's seen a lot, had a lot of different experiences, he's kind of fine-tuned what his approach is."

Jacque Vaughn will lead the 2-2 Nets in his first game as head coach on Wednesday night at home against the New York Knicks.