After firing Jacque Vaughn, the Brooklyn Nets face a familiar challenge

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EXACTLY ONE YEAR after his tumultuous 3½-year tenure with the Brooklyn Nets came to a close, Kyrie Irving returned to Barclays Center.

It was Feb. 6, and Irving was in town with the Dallas Mavericks, less than a week after his former Nets running mate, Kevin Durant, made his return to the city where the duo envisioned winning NBA titles. Instead, a team that failed to live up to championship aspirations had been replaced by one battling for Eastern Conference play-in position.

"When you trade some franchise players and things are mixed around, it's going to look different," Irving said after the Mavericks' 119-107 victory, the second leg of Dallas'…