Jacque Vaughn is headed back to San Antonio. Before an ill-fated two-plus year run as the Magic’s head coach, he was an assistant under Gregg Popovich, and now he’s rejoining the team as a scout, the Spurs announced Tuesday in a press release.
When the Magic hired Vaughn in 2012, the same summer they traded Dwight Howard to the Lakers, he was seen as the next great coaching prospect from the Popovich tree. Unfortunately, his tenure in Orlando didn’t work out. He was criticized heavily for uncreative playcalling and strange rotation patterns that often found young players buried on the bench, which was antithetical to their development. But just because he may not be head coaching material doesn’t mean he doesn’t have value to any organization, and it says a lot that the Spurs wanted to bring him back.
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Jacque Vaughn has been added to the front office. The former Spurs player and assistant coach will return to San Antonio as a pro scout.
Vaughn spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Orlando Magic (2012-15) and was the second-youngest head coach in the league when he was hired in 2012. Prior to leading Orlando, he spent two seasons (2010-12) as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich for the Silver and Black.
When the Magic hired Vaughn in 2012, the same summer they traded Dwight Howard to the Lakers, he was seen as the next great coaching prospect from the Popovich tree. Unfortunately, his tenure in Orlando didn’t work out. He was criticized heavily for uncreative playcalling and strange rotation patterns that often found young players buried on the bench, which was antithetical to their development. But just because he may not be head coaching material doesn’t mean he doesn’t have value to any organization, and it says a lot that the Spurs wanted to bring him back.