Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 candidates to replace Billy Donovan as head coach

5. Jacque Vaughn

Jacque Vaughn’s previous tenure at the helm of the Orlando Magic didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he’s the right man for this job, but he does have head coaching experience and did a bang-up job with the Brooklyn Nets after Kenny Atkinson was let go in early March.

Vaughn’s .269 winning percentage during his two-and-a-half seasons with the Magic is hardly encouraging, but the Nets were one of the biggest surprises in Orlando during the league’s restart, going 5-3 before being swept by a clearly superior Toronto Raptors squad.

Considering the Nets were playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and several other key contributors, the growth Vaughn’s young players in that small sample size can’t just be written off. That may be what the Nets did by hiring Steve Nash to be their next head coach, but the Thunder should

Orlando’s roster was horribly managed during his time there, so even though Vaughn wasn’t the answer for that particular puzzle, he was able to prove something in his limited time in charge of the Nets. He may feel like a long-shot candidate, but this offshoot from the Gregg Popovich coaching tree should be considered for most NBA vacancies right now.