The Long Island Nets are heading into the 2026-27 season with a reshaped coaching staff and a new man in charge.
With Mfon Udofia off to the Orlando Magic earlier this offseason, Long Island has turned to Shawn Swords as its next head coach. Swords is no stranger to the program - he spent the past three seasons working alongside Udofia and now becomes the eighth head coach in franchise history.
The Nets also filled out the bench with three new assistant coaches and a new head video coordinator/player development coach. Long Island announced Wednesday that Khalif Wyatt, Bryson Johnson and Al Paul are joining Swords as assistants, while Vladimir Lukomski will handle the head video coordinator/player development coach role. Returning assistant Jorge Gutiérrez remains on the staff.
Udofia’s exit closed a three-year run in Long Island that started when he was named the seventh head coach in franchise history in 2023. Before that, he had worked as an assistant with several G League teams. His stretch with the Nets proved to be a meaningful one for the organization’s development pipeline: he became the winningest coach in franchise history, and three Long Island players earned NBA call-ups during the 2025-26 season.
Rather than going outside the organization, the Nets elevated Swords, who first arrived as an assistant before the 2022-23 season and was promoted to associate head coach in 2023. Now he gets his first shot at running the show.
Wyatt is the only one of the new assistants moving up from within. He spent last season as Long Island’s head video coordinator/player development coach and now moves to the bench. His background includes player development work at Temple, coaching at West Chester and a nine-year professional playing career overseas.
Johnson comes to Long Island after three seasons as associate head coach at Holy Cross. He also has coaching stops at Vermont, George Mason and Brown on his résumé.
Paul brings another college coaching path to the staff. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Boston University, worked previously at Yale, and started his coaching career at Putnam Science Academy and Castleton University. The Long Island native also spent several years in basketball operations and video roles at Boston University.
Lukomski steps into Wyatt’s old position after two seasons as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State and a long run with Canada’s national basketball program, including work with the U23 and U18 teams.
The staff turnover also means the group that opened last season looks very different now. Thomas Bridges and Steven Kaner, both assistants under Udofia in 2025-26, are no longer with the organization.
Bridges is now an assistant coach with the Osceola Magic, while Kaner has joined the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant video coordinator. Both had come aboard in 2025 when Long Island reshaped Udofia’s staff.
For Swords, the timing matters. Long Island remains a key part of Brooklyn’s player development pipeline, and young players are expected to spend time with the G League affiliate throughout the 2026-27 season. That puts the coaching staff in a central role when it comes to getting those players ready for NBA chances.
Long Island opens its season November 6 with a three-game road trip, then returns home for its November 13 opener against the College Park Skyhawks at Nassau Coliseum.
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