Scotto: Nets hiring Hornets assistant Jay Hernandez

The Nets who have several assistant coach openings are hiring Jay Hernandez, a long time NBA assistant, Mike Scotto of Hoopshype reports. Hernandez has been an assistant in Charlotte for five years and before that, was on Orlando’s staff when Jacque Vaughn was head coach of the Magic.

Hernandez is best known for his player development skills but in recent years he’s also become more involved in varied coaching assignments. He is Long Island native who has an MBA from Hofstra University. He also served as head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate.

Evan Barnes of Newsday recalled his Long Island days:

Hernandez attended St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay and played three seasons at Hofstra (1998-2001) for then-coach Jay Wright after transferring from New Hampshire. He also played professionally in Puerto Rico for several seasons.

In 2004, he started Pro Hoops Inc., a training facility on Long Island that worked with players for pre-draft and offseason workouts. From 2011-14, 14 players who trained at Pro Hoops were drafted, including seven lottery picks.

In a follow-up story Tuesday, Scotto suggested that two former G League coaches of the year with Long Island could be in line for an assistant’s job but in the case of at least one, it could be competitive.

Another Nets assistant coaching candidate to keep an eye on is Will Weaver, league sources told HoopsHype. Weaver has drawn interest from multiple NBA teams this offseason, including the Raptors, sources said. He previously worked for the Nets as an assistant coach and was the G League Coach of the Year for Brooklyn’s affiliate, the Long Island Nets (in 2019.)

Since leaving Brooklyn, Weaver has been a head coach with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL and Paris Basket of the French league. In between, he was an assistant coach with the Rockets. He has also served as an assistant coach for Australia’s national team.

Should the Nets look internally for an assistant coach, Ronnie Burrell, the NBA G League Coach of the Year (this past season), would be a strong option. During the season, Burrell led Long Island to a franchise-record 16-game winning streak.

The Nets decided against keeping three assistant coaches earlier this month: Brian Keefe, Tiago Splitter and Igor Kokoskov. In addition, the Nets never filled Vaughn’s spot after he was elevated to replace Steve Nash last November.

• Report: Nets hiring former LI star Jay Hernandez as assistant coach - Evan Barnes - Newsday