Juwan Howard returning to NBA as Eastern Conference assistant

It did not take Juwan Howard very long to find his next job after being fired by Michigan.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Friday that the former UM coach is returning to the NBA. He has reportedly agreed to join the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant under their new head coach Jordi Fernandez.

Howard, a former NBA All-Star, had spent the last five seasons as the head coach of the Wolverines. He led the team to two Sweet Sixteen berths and a decent overall record of 87-72 (.547). But Howard also made some headlines for the wrong reasons at Michigan and was ultimately fired last month after the team went a horrid 8-24 in 2023-24.

NBA assistant coaching is well within Howard’s wheelhouse, though. Before taking the Michigan job, he had been an assistant on the Miami Heat for six seasons, including during their NBA Finals run in 2014. Now Howard, 51, is set to run it back in the NBA on the coaching staff of Brooklyn’s rookie head coach.