Nets Jordi Fernandez prioritizes building relationships with players, team

“It’s not the X’s and the O’s, but the Jimmys and the Joes.”— Texas coach Darrell RoyalBefore Jordi Fernandez became Nets head coach, he was considered the NBA’s best assistant coach.And even more than systems or tactics, it was about his ability to communicate and build relationships.Or to paraphrase Royal, it was less about Fernandez’s plays and more about his players.

Specifically, not his ability to recruit them like Royal did, but his ability to reach them.And that’s starting to show this preseason.“Great guy.

He has a great understanding of the job of coaching,” Cam Johnson said.“You can tell that in his short time, he’s been able to develop relationships enough to get on us and to push us, and we know he has our best interests at heart.

He’s very detail-oriented, so I appreciate that.… [He] holds us to a high standard, and that accountability is something we need.

I think we’re heading in the right direction.”As soon as Brooklyn hired Fernandez, Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey — his former boss — told The Post about his relationship-building skill.Before Friday’s preseason finale — a 116-112 loss to Toronto — his players backed up that claim, despite the Spaniard being very demanding and at times blunt.But so far, Fernandez has been able to get them to take tough coaching.Whether that’s because he’s just one paper short of his PhD in sports psychology or it’s because he’s a European coach (they’re known to be direct), Johnson said it’s likely a little of both but more the former.“I think that [PhD] is big.

In coaching, especially in professional sports, there’s a very big management part of it,” Johnson said.“It’s not just about X’s and O’s.

It’s not just about what you know.It’s about how you’re able to communicate with your players and relate to your players and get the best out of them.

He just has a great understanding of that.I think that’s where that comes from.�...