Just after the New York Liberty defeated the Seattle Storm, a contingent of Brooklyn Nets coaches gathered on the court in Barclays Center for a group photo, a moment captured by Doug Bearak of The BK Block. Surrounding the team’s new head coach, Jordi Fernandez — who had sat courtside with Clara Wu Tsai — were six men who will form the core of the 41-year-old’s coaching staff this coming season…

Left to right: holdovers Ryan Forehan Kelly and Corey Vinson, then new assistants Juwan Howard (formerly of the University of Michigan), and Deividas Dulkys of the Sacramento Kings. Then Fernéndez and lead assistant Steve Hetzel, formerly of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Travis Bader, the Nets lead video coordinator last season.

Just minutes after the photo was taken, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype reported that Fernández will fill out his staff with a mix of incumbents and new guys, some but not all of whom were in the group photo…

It had already been reported that two of the assistants — Hetzel and Howard — were joining the Nets. The news from Scotto’s identified the two new player development coaches: Griffin, who’s been with Denver the last two years, and Dulkys, a former Lithuanian professional player who’s worked in Sacramento with Fernández, also for the past two years.

As previously reported by NetsDaily, Ronnie Burrell, who was G League Coach of the Year in 2023, will not be retained. Nor will Kevin Ollie, who filled in for Jacque Vaughn after JV was dismissed in February, nor Will Weaver, his lead assistant.

There is no word on whether Caporn will continue in his role as director of player development, a job he was given last season, nor whether Bader will remain as head video coordinator or be named an assistant. Also uncertain is whether the new head coach has other moves planned.

Still, the moves indicate a couple of things: a push for development and a staff younger, if still experienced, than most in the league.

The city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization are awaiting word on the bid they submitted in February to host either the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft. The NFL owners are meeting this week in Nashville, and an announcement is possible this week. Team president Art Rooney II expects word this week, and it would make sense with the meetings going on to discuss several league matters.

According to Carolina Panthers beat writer Joe Person of the Athletic on X, Pittsburgh is in the running alongside Denver.

Host cities for 2026 and ‘27 NFL Draft could be announced this week at spring meetings. Denver and Pittsburgh in the running. Charlotte still interested in hosting a future draft, but did not submit a formal bid for this round.

— Joe Person (@josephperson) May 17, 2024

Charlotte is interested but has not yet submitted a formal bid. I don’t know all of the specifics around the decision or the situation, but if Pittsburgh and Denver are the two teams that have submitted bids, then it would make sense that one of the two cities will host in 2026 with the other in 2027.

WPXI’s Jenna Harner interviewed several people close to the process in Pittsburgh in an article on Sunday, and the VisitPittsburgh CEO said that the level of detail the league is getting into at this point in the process seems promising for Pittsburgh. That would suggest 2026 could be the likely outcome, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.

The city of Detroit broke the draft attendance record with 775,000 fans over three days last month. That brought in an estimated $165 million in net economic impact for the city. Hosting the draft would be an event unlike any other that Pittsburgh has hosted, and it would be a welcome economic boon for the city.

Roger Goodell appeared on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2024 NFL Draft and said “that may be coming soon” when asked about Pittsburgh potentially hosting a future draft, so all signs point positive for the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.