So far this week we have looked at three coaching candidates (Coach K, Tom Thibodeau, and Jeff Van Gundy) and now it is time for me to talk about another pretty solid candidate in Avery Johnson. Avery Johnson has been out of coaching since the 2008 season, but he is a strong possibility with the Nets this season because he is looking to get back into coaching. It also helps that our new owner is looking for a head coach with NBA experience.
Johnson was well known for motivating his teams and getting them to preform strongly in the regular season. So far in his 3+ seasons Coach Johnson has a record that is 62 games over .500 (194-70, good for a 73.5% winning percentage).
After taking over for run-and-gun happy coach Don Nelson, Johnson was able to take over and turn his Mavericks into a very good defensive team. The lowest his team was ranked in defensive efficiency was in 2005 when they were ranked 11th (they were ranked 24th in 2003-2004):
- 2005-2006: 11th (105.0 points per 100 possessions)
- 2006-2007: 5th (103.2 points per 100 possessions)
- 2007-2008: 9th (106.1 points per 100 possessions)
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Another little nugget from Dave D’Alessandro‘s report while at Prokhorov’s brunch for the media. He wants a coach with NBA experience:
When the subject of a new coach was broached, Prokhorov all but dismissed Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“The new coach must have NBA experience,” Prokhorov said. “Coach K does not have NBA experience.”
This is some pretty big news because everyone was expecting Prokhorov to make a big play for Coach K, but that probably won’t happen now. Also, this takes another name out of play. Ettore Messina is a coach who worked for Prokhorov in t he past when Messina coached the Russian team that Prokhorov owned. He has interviewed for a couple NBA jobs and many people consider him the only international coach who would be able to make the jump from overseas to the NBA. Without NBA experience though, I would be surprised to see Prokhorov go after him now.
As reported by Dave D’Alessandro today:
Kiki Vandeweghe’s days as Nets general manager are numbered.
New owner Mikhail Prokhorov said as much this morning in a brunch with reporters, when the subject of management was raised.
Asked specifically about Vandeweghe, Prokhorov replied “His contract is up, and I wish him luck.”
Earlier, Prokhorov reiterated that he is negotiating an extension for team president Rod Thorn.
Kiki was put in a tough situation this season, but this was pretty much a done deal since the whole Del Harris situation. Kiki was never a coach before and he really took a hit to his reputation for the good of the team (and he did a great job during the rebuilding process – dumping salary and getting young guys on their rookie deals), so it is a little sad to see him go, but this is a must.
Replace “Georgia Tech” with “New Jersey” and next fall is closer than you think.
So… Hey guys. Remember that piece I did a week ago? About that Kentucky point guard who was pretty good? Please forget all of that. I hear he’s going to bust. He’s no good. Too turnover prone, too interested in highlight reels, and no amount of cleansing can get John Calipari’s stink off you.
Man, I wish I could believe that.
I was planning on doing an exciting, awesome mock draft where I could put the words “1. New Jersey: John Wall, PG, Kentucky,” and then just laugh jubilantly with the future of our team in mind. But alas, my dreams are for naught, lost in an alternate universe where having a 25% chance and the fact that the Washington franchise is a miserable excuse for a team with no future and who traded away their star player for peanuts at the deadline and had two players brought up on gun charges actually matters. Excuse me while I go shoot myself instead. Actually, Washington could help me with that. Anyone seen Gilbert around?
Anyway, without further ado, the first of my weekly updated mock drafts. You’ll be seeing a different one of these every Wednesday, and while the first couple will only be the top 14, by the end we’ll have expanded to the entire first round (and the Nets pick at 31).
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After my two esteemed colleagues discussed the potential of Mike Kryzamalamadingdong and Tom Thibodeau, now comes my chance to look at a guy who could also very realistically be manning the sidelines for our New Jersey Nets next season: Sir Jeff Van Gundy. JVG, who spends most of his time these days having Super Soaker Wars in Mark Jackson’s backyard (Mike Breen is not invited), spends his nights doing color commentary for TNT. While he seems perfectly content with his job, the lure of coaching remains over his head, and there are a few reasons why he might return to the sidelines.
First, I think we can all be sure that he hasn’t slept with Gloria James. So that’s one point in his favor.
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The graph above was done by Sleepy Freud of the Warriors blog Golden State of Mind, and it displays visually the Nets chances at the different picks (every lottery team is done over at the blog). As you can see, there are only four colors represented on the Nets’ chart, meaning that the worst the Nets can do is the 4th overall pick. The Nets really need the number one pick though. It isn’t because of John Wall though, sure he is a fantastic player, but in all honesty I’d be happy with any of the players rumored to be in the top 4. The reason the Nets need to win the draft lottery is that they need to keep this “momentum train” rolling.
Think about it. The Nets are coming off one of the worst seasons in NBA history. They had an owner who was more focused on making money than winning and it showed. Two years ago, the Nets just missed the playoffs and instead of retooling they decided to strip everything down. They kept a coach who was in “lame duck” status because they didn’t want to pay two coaches at once and when they eventually got rid of Lawrence Frank they filled the position internally with Kiki Vandeweghe. After all of this, the Nets finished with just 12 wins.
That all seems light years away, as things really has started going the Nets’ way. First and foremost, Mikhail Prokhorov has taken over and he means business. The Nets have a young core with some great players (Brook Lopez, Terrence Williams, and Devin Harris), and the Cleveland Cavs choked in the playoffs prompting rumors of LeBron leaving.
If the Nets win the draft lottery, the good mojo continues and this new feeling that Nets’ fan have (I think it is called hope) keeps going. If the Nets lose, it is just the other shoe dropping, something Nets’ fans are used to. Win 2 Eastern Conference championships, get smoked in the finals twice. Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson made for the most exciting triple-threat in the NBA, couldn’t really do much in the playoffs. I (and most likely other Nets’ fans) have been conditioned to wait for that other shoe to drop during Bruce Ratner’s reign as Nets’ owner.. I think winning the lottery is what will help Nets’ fans finally close the book on the Bruce Ratner era for good and confidently start the Mikhail Prokhorov off on the right foot, optimistically.
Our new owner is in the middle of a busy week. Between landing in the United States, fielding multiple press conferences, an appearance at the NBA Draft Lottery, making time Wednesday night to visit Yankees Stadium, and weathering a spit storm from having a conversation with Mike Francesa, oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov is a hot commodity in the New Jersey area these days. Finally approved as the first international owner of an NBA team last week, I think all Nets fans would agree after dealing with the last six years of Bruce Ratner at the helm that any shift in ownership is a welcome change. It’s not just for the sake of difference, though; The allure of the Russian billionaire is what Jay-Z would call “far too much for (us) to ever ignore.”
I must say, my new favorite defining piece of the Prokhorov madness is a gem. It’s not another wild, thrill-seeking stunt (although I do love that we have an adrenaline junkie for an owner), or an appearance with some TV or radio personality. It is a personal, two-minute message that Prokhorov made – for us, the fans – to kick off playing with his newfound toy.
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Following on the heels on Dennis’ post on Coach K yesterday (unlike Dennis, I’m not even going to attempt to spell his surname), I’m going to take a look at Tom Thibodeau, someone I’ve been slowly starting to come around on as a candidate to the point where I’m starting to think he would be a very smart choice for the organization.
Currently, the assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, he’s also been an assistant with the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks. A disciple of Jeff Van Gundy, who’s a candidate in his own rite, Thibodeau is all about defense, defense and defense. And as the Celtics and the Magic are proving in the playoffs currently, defense rules in the Eastern Conference. Thibodeau’s defensive schemes were credited in limiting Kobe Bryant’s offensive production in the 2008 NBA Finals, and I think a case could be made that Thiboeau’s planning played a role in LeBron James and the Cavs demise last week. Off the top of my head, the Nets haven’t had a head coach that was this dedicated to the art of defense since the late Chuck Daly in the early 90s.
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