Jordi Fernandez: ‘On board with the path that we’re taking’

Jordi Fernandez doesn’t have social media but when the big news about the Mikal Bridges trade broke two weeks back, he didn’t need Twitter or Instagram, etc. He knew.

“Because I don’t have social media, I had people texting me during dinner. My phone was blowing up, and I already knew because my boss called me and he told me,” the Brooklyn Nets new head coach said at Team Canada’s training camp in Las Vegas. “So, very, very excited. Obviously on board with the path that we’re taking, and I think that’s gonna just take us to that level that we want to get to.”

Fernandez, who will coach Team Canada vs. Team USA 9:30 p.m. ET tonight in a pre-Olympic friendly match, also said he was well aware of a possible pivot to a total rebuild during his job interviews back in early April.

“I mean, Sean said it, that I was going through a process,” Fernandez said. “We know that we wanted to do something sustainable and we wanted to win and build something very special. There were different avenues to do it, and this was a possible one.:

And like Marks, the new Nets head coach said that it was the Knicks offer which wound up being five first round picks, a first round pick and the return of a Nets second in 2025 that turned the tide. Brooklyn had previously turned down a variety of offers that were similar to New York’s. (One league source told NetsDaily after news of the trade broke that some variant of the Knicks offer had been on the table since before last February’s deadline.)

“We just couldn’t control if something [big came], what other teams would offer, so we’d just have to sit and wait. And he had his different avenues to get there. When the opportunity presented itself, he called me. I knew before it came out to the media, and I was very excited because I know how the NBA works and I know how good you can get when you have assets, flexibility and so and so forth. So I’m just very excited.”

Marks in his comments Monday said he knew he’d have to inform Fernandez (and presumably other candidates) of the possible change in the franchise’s direction.

“It’s very important to be upfront when you’re hiring a coach — or any staff member for that matter — for them to know there’s a variety of different pathways we can go down,” Marks said. “We knew the flexibility that we had in terms of the roster, the cap, the salaries that we have, this [outcome] could be one of them. We’re not going to shy away from that. So, he knew well ahead that this was an avenue that we could be going down and has bought in completely.”

Fernandez also said he was happy for Bridges and admitted there will be “adversity” as the Nets move forward.

“He’s going to be in a winning team, so I’m happy for him. We’re gonna be building something very special, so I’m very happy for us,” said Fernandez. “I just know what’s in front of us, what’s the adversity that we’re going to face. My job is going to be to be a problem-solver and make those guys work, make the program, build a culture and identity and that’s how we’re going to go with it.”

Tonight’s game will air on FS1 starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.