The Long Island Nets have reshaped Shawn Swords’ staff after a busy offseason of departures, bringing in Khalif Wyatt, Bryson Johnson and Al Paul as assistant coaches while Vladimir Lukomski steps in as head video coordinator and player development coach.
Swords took over the G League affiliate earlier in the summer after Mfon Udofia left for an assistant coaching role with the Orlando Magic following three seasons in Long Island. The staff turnover didn’t stop there, forcing the Nets to restock several spots around the bench and in the video room.
Jorge Gutiérrez is back, too. He returns for his third season as an assistant with Long Island after working with Wyatt on this year’s Summer League staff. Gutiérrez spent four seasons in the NBA, including his first two with Brooklyn.
Wyatt’s new role is a step up after he served last season as Long Island’s head video coordinator and player development coach. He also worked as an assistant on the Nets’ Summer League coaching staff. Before arriving in Long Island, Wyatt handled player development at Temple, where he played college basketball, and also coached at West Chester University.
The 35-year-old built a nine-year professional career overseas before retiring after the 2022 season. Over five seasons in Israel, Wyatt earned two All-Israeli League First Team honors.
Johnson joins the staff after three years as an associate head coach at Holy Cross. Before that, he coached at Vermont, where the program captured back-to-back America East regular-season tournament titles in his first two seasons there. His résumé also includes stops at George Mason and Brown.
Paul, a Long Island native, spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Boston University. He also worked in the same role at Yale and previously served at BU as a video coordinator and director of operations.
Lukomski is taking over the job Wyatt held a year ago. He spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State and has worked in video and coaching roles with Canada’s national team program, where he has overlapped with Swords. That connection matters this season, with Long Island set to play four “home” games in Canada and make its third straight trip to Montreal as “Les Nets.”
The changes come after several assistants were poached this offseason, including Steven Kaner, who is now the assistant video coordinator with the Atlanta Hawks.
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