At halftime of Tuesday's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors, Nets general manager Billy King spoke with YES Network's Sarah Kustok on a variety of topics, including trust (which isn't there yet), Kidd (who King feels has the confidence and voice to lead), injuries (which he doesn't blame for their struggles) and the state of the Nets. Watch above.
Billy King
Billy King
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Billy King
I did not have the chance to listen to it, but the good folks over at SNY transcribed a few key answers from King.
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Deron Williams (AP)
"We'd like (him) to practice, but the goal now is to get him as healthy as possible, so that when he does go, there's no setbacks," King said. "There is no need for him to have a setback in day two that sets him back so you're not ready for opening day."
King stressed that the lack of a timetable isn't a long-term indictment of Williams's ankle, and it's hard to blame him for doing so. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who sustained a right knee injury in last year's playoffs, underwent a second surgery on his knee yesterday and will be out another 4-6 weeks.
Williams's injury doesn't have the same long-term implications as Westbrook's. It's just that the Nets want to bring him along slowly. "We don’t play our first regular season game till (October) 30th," King added. "There’s no need to rush him back, so that’s why there’s no timetable."
The Nets guard sustained the injury while working out at his home in Utah. He was fitted with a walking boot during Dodge Barrage, a celebrity dodgeball tournament to benefit Point of Hope, Williams's charity foundation.
Williams dealt with synovitis (inflammation) in both ankles last year, undergoing cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma therapy in February. King has no worries about Williams's current ankle injury, noting that Williams's injury is "different" without elaborating.
Deron Williams (AP)
"We'd like (him) to practice, but the goal now is to get him as healthy as possible, so that when he does go, there's no setbacks," King said. "There is no need for him to have a setback in day two that sets him back so you're not ready for opening day."
King stressed that the lack of a timetable isn't a long-term indictment of Williams's ankle, and it's hard to blame him for doing so. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who sustained a right knee injury in last year's playoffs, underwent a second surgery on his knee yesterday and will be out another 4-6 weeks.
Williams's injury doesn't have the same long-term implications as Westbrook's. It's just that the Nets want to bring him along slowly. "We don’t play our first regular season game till (October) 30th," King added. "There’s no need to rush him back, so that’s why there’s no timetable."
The Nets guard sustained the injury while working out at his home in Utah. He was fitted with a walking boot during Dodge Barrage, a celebrity dodgeball tournament to benefit Point of Hope, Williams's charity foundation.
Williams dealt with synovitis (inflammation) in both ankles last year, undergoing cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma therapy in February. King has no worries about Williams's current ankle injury, noting that Williams's injury is "different" without elaborating.
In the wake of head coach Jason Kidd pleading guilty to a DUI in July 2012, with a sentence of probation and a possible NBA suspension, Billy King has released the following statement:
Jason has taken responsibility for his actions, and fully realizes that he needs to grow from this experience. We are confident he will make these strides on a personal level and have a positive effect on others as well.
Stay tuned for more information on this as we get it.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd and general manager Billy King watched a half-dozen draft prospects today -- including potential draftee Tim Hardaway, Jr. -- but the major topic of discussion today had nothing to do with what the Nets might do with their 22nd pick.
After the workout in the PNY Center, King spoke about Brook Lopez's recent surgery, replacing a screw in his right foot that the team found had bent during his postseason physical. It is the third surgery Lopez has had on the foot since first incurring a stress fracture on December 23rd, 2011, and it's put him in a walking boot for the second time since November.
King seemed unperturbed by the news. "I don't have any concern over it, because it wasn't something that he had pain with. It wasn't like it was preventing him from playing. ... Just take it out and put a new screw in so that something doesn't happen later.
"He was pain-free, so he didn’t even notice it was bent until the x-rays were taken."
Lopez missed just eight games due to injury this season (a mild sprain on the top of his right foot), and had a career season, averaging 19.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game, shooting 52.1% from the field.
More from the workout: according to Rod Boone of Newsday, King added that MarShon Brooks will not be on the team's summer league roster.
Asked Billy where MarShon fits into #Nets plans: "MarShon is not going to be in summer league. It's up to him. It's always been up to him."
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) June 24, 2013
Sports Illustrated -- Nets' Lopez has screw in right foot replaced
New York Post -- Lopez has another surgery on foot; Nets GM not concerned
How it all went down. (AP)
At 40 years old, Jason Kidd isn't the youngest head coach in the NBA -- that distinction belongs to the 38-year-old Jacque Vaughn. (Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel is also younger than Kidd.) But Kidd is, by far, the least experienced: no other head coach in the NBA has zero experience coaching. Even Mike Budenholzer, Steve Clifford, and Jeff Hornacek, the three others who will be brand new to head coaching next season, all spent years as assistant coaching before taking the leap.
So how did Kidd blow away Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King in their interview, so much so that King even called Brian Shaw's agent to warn him that Kidd was "very good" before Shaw even got on the plane to Brooklyn?... MORE →
King, Kidd. (AP)
"You'd have to ask Billy that," Kidd responded, referring to Nets general manager Billy King. So I did.... MORE →
Ben Couch of the Brooklyn Nets spoke with Nets General Manager Billy King about the highs and lows of last season, as well as some of his expectations for the future.
In covering the process and the expectations of selecting a new head coach, King says that they will take their time. He states that they are looking for someone to "take this group collectively and get the most out of them." He believes that Carlesimo did that, but also says that they could've gone further. His main focus is creating a culture that becomes "the identity of the Brooklyn Nets." He says that "when you come to play us, you know it's going to be tough-minded and that it's going to be a dog-fight."
King draws on an offensive philosophy that he'd like to see the Nets develop: playing team basketball. He refers back to teams such as Miami, San Antonio, the Lakers (of the past), and the Jordan-Bulls. He says that in all of those situations, the team came first.
King says how the move to Brooklyn "exceeded expectations" and even though there were many exciting moments, he thought that the team itself could have went a little further. When asked what defined the Brooklyn experience, King responded by saying that "it was the fan base but also the employees of the building" that made it a true home-court advantage.
King noted that the team "started great, then we had our lull in the beginning of December and then P.J. stepped in and did a good job for us. Then I think we had some injuries down the stretch that I think affected us." He talks of how he would've liked to see the team get to 50 wins, and says the fact that it ended so quickly after they battled back to force a Game 7 was bitter.
King adds that one of his main concerns was not knowing how quickly the team would gel after putting many pieces together so quickly. One of his goals was to get home-court advantage and finish in the top four in the Eastern Conference and by doing that, he thought it would've helped the team get to the second round.
You can check out the entire interview here.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King earned two second-place votes and one third-place vote for Executive of the Year, the NBA announced today. The three votes earned him 11th place in the GM rankings.
King was metaphorically handed a blank check to field a competitive team in Brooklyn by owner Mikhail Prokhorov, and he did just that; after five consecutive losing seasons, King helped reshape Brooklyn's roster by re-signing Deron Williams (five years, $98 million), Brook Lopez (four years, $61 million), Gerald Wallace (four years, $40 million), and Kris Humphries (two years, $24 million), as well as trading for six-time All-Star Joe Johnson and eventual starting forward Reggie Evans. King was also instrumental in re-signing backup guard Keith Bogans, signing backup center Andray Blatche, and signing backup point guard C.J. Watson to veteran's minimum contracts.
King gets flack for handing out large contracts, but he had free license to, and his job was to put a team on the floor Brooklyn would come out to watch. That he did.
After seasons of 12-70, 24-58, and 22-44, the Nets went 49-33 in their inaugural season in Brooklyn, losing to the Chicago Bulls in seven games in the first round.
The Nets haven't reached out to Phil Jackson... yet. (AP)
One day after firing Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo, General Manager Billy King went on Ryan Ruocco and Stephen A. Smith's radio show on ESPN 98.7 FM to discuss the disappointing Game 7 loss to Chicago, the Nets vacant coaching position and off-season roster moves.
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