Report: Durant, Kyrie eyeing high-profile HC like Popovich, Lue for Nets

Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving want the team to hire a "higher profile" head coach such as Gregg Popovich or Tyronn Lue, sources told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan.

There is strong mutual respect between Durant and Popovich, and the Nets will explore the possibility of hiring the future Hall of Famer as their next bench boss, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports.

The Nets already have ties to the Spurs franchise. General manager Sean Marks played a pair of seasons in San Antonio and later served as an assistant under Popovich, and former Spurs big man Tiago Splitter is a player development coach with Brooklyn.

Lue is in his first season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers. The 43-year-old previously spent parts of four seasons as the Cleveland Cavaliers' bench boss, during which he guided the club to its lone NBA title in 2016.

Marks is also considering interim head coach Jacque Vaughn for the permanent role, according to MacMullan.

Vaughn took over in March for Kenny Atkinson and guided the club to a 7-3 record, including a 5-3 mark during the seeding games with a shorthanded roster. Before joining the Nets, Vaughn went 58-158 in three seasons as head coach of the Orlando Magic.

Brooklyn was swept in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the defending champion Toronto Raptors.