A mere 15 hours after the Nets were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls, P.J. Carlesimo is looking for a job. General Manager Billy King surprisingly addressed the media on Sunday afternoon at PNY Center and said the interim head coach will not return after he went 35-19 in 54 games following the firing of Avery Johnson on Dec. 27. Read more after the jump.
“It was a difficult decision and we talked about it, but looking at the long-term and the future of this organization, I felt it was in the best interest to find the right fit,” said King, who signed a multi-year extension of his own just last month. “I thanked him, he did a hell of a job for us in a difficult situation.”
“By doing it now, there’s a lot of jobs open, so it gives P.J. a chance and it gives us a chance, with a lot of candidates out there, to explore and that’s what we’ll do in the next couple of weeks.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Jeff Van Gundy will be a top target in this search, which was assumed once Johnson was fired in December. King said he would also reach out to Phil Jackson, who has expressed his desire to obtain a front office position, not a coaching position.
“I haven’t talked to him, but I won’t rule anyone out at this point in time,” King said of Jackson, who owns 11 NBA championship rings between coaching stints with Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. “I’m pretty sure I’ll call him. He’s one of the best coaches sitting on the sidelines, so you have to reach out.”
Other early names to keep in mind as the search gets rolling include, but are not limited to Nate McMillan and Stan Van Gundy, both of whom have NBA head coaching experience. Among current NBA assistant coaches, Brian Shaw (Pacers) and Mike Budholzer (Spurs) are names that have been linked to head coaching positions already this spring.
Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov has made no secret that he would like to make a big-name splash with his next coach. With that said, one more name to keep in mind is Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who spent six seasons coaching the Philadelphia 76ers while King was the General Manager there. Brown, Brooklyn-born and Long Island-bred, is currently the head coach at Southern Methodist University.
Report from Josh Newman of SNY
