Hawks Nuggets Basketball

Nuggets assistant coach Jordi Fernandez, left, confers with Nuggets forward Will Barton on Nov. 12, 2021, in Denver. 

Michael Malone’s coaching staff is losing an assistant to an outside promotion for a second straight season.

After Wes Unseld Jr. left to become the head coach of the Washington Wizards last offseason, Jordi Fernandez was announced as Mike Brown’s associate head coach in Sacramento on Wednesday. Brown, serving as an assistant to Steve Kerr until Golden State’s playoff run comes to an end, was the head coach in Cleveland when Fernandez got his start in the NBA as a player development coach for the Cavaliers.

Fernandez also is an assistant to Brown on the Nigerian national team’s coaching staff.

After four seasons on the player development staff, Fernandez gained additional experience in the G League, eventually coaching Cleveland’s affiliate, the Canton Charge. He joined the Nuggets before the 2016-17 season and spent six seasons on Malone’s bench.

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