P.J. Carlesimo (AP)
Former Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo thinks Mikhail Prokhorov's goal of winning a championship in the next two years isn't realistic with the team's current roster.
"That's a heavy load for anybody, not just for Brooklyn," Carlesimo said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. "I don't know if that's realistic the way the roster is right now. I would not say that team could not win a championship. We thought we could this year if things broke a little better for us. But if you have that on your plate, that you need to win a championship in two years, I think it makes it a little challenging."
Carlesimo added that the Nets aren't one of the favorites -- duh -- but did lop praise on Brooklyn, saying they're a 50-win team that "could do well, particularly in the Eastern Conference."
After firing Avery Johnson, the Nets went 35-19 under Carlesimo in the regular season before losing in seven games to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. Carlesimo was let go the next day.
This statement isn't particularly new or controversial. If doing well means "they have the potential to get as far as playing Miami before getting swept," I'd agree. The Nets locked into a good-not-great core last year. We knew they weren't a championship team from the outset, not as long as the Heat were still in the East and the Thunder in the West (though they did beat OKC emphatically earlier this season).
A better coach and better system could help them improve, but there's still a ceiling there. Despite their publicized goal, the point of "win now" isn't to win a championship immediately (although that would be great), it was to erase the stench of New Jersey's losses from the franchise. That won't happen overnight, but winning -- even if it's just games, not championships -- helps.
ESPN New York -- P.J. on Avery's firing, Part I
New York Daily News -- PJ Carlesimo isn't buying into the narrative for why he was fired: "People spin things the way they want to do it."
ESPN.
The New York Daily News reports that former Brooklyn Nets head coach P.J. Carlesimo has been hired by ESPN to work as a studio analyst for the 2013 playoffs and fill the void that was left when Flip Saunders was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves to become their President of Basketball Operations.
Says Carlesimo:
“The conversations have been let’s do the playoffs,” Carlesimo said. “Then we’ll sit down and talk about the future.”
"I’ve got to look at both options. But the likelihood is that I’ll be broadcasting next year,” Carlesimo. “I’m looking at broadcasting as what I’m going to do moving forward."
Carlesimo's experience with broadcasting includes stints with NBC Sports, Spurs television, FOX Sports West, and ESPN Radio.
Similar to Avery Johnson after he was let go by the Mavericks in 2008, it is likely that Carlesimo hopes the ESPN gig will keep his name afloat in the event that any coaching positions become available in the future.
"I have enjoyed television and radio way more than I thought when I first started,” Carlesimo said. “But if I told you it is the same as coaching I would be lying."
Carlesimo was released by the Nets following the team's Game 7 loss to the Chicago Bulls on May 5th.
Read More: New York Daily News -- Garden wall vanishes for ESPN & Mike Woodson after Knicks victory in Game 5
P.J. Carlesimo (AP)
Related:
An updated list of coaching candidates
Gallery: The many glorious faces of P.J. Carlesimo
"OK P.J., now do a Dr. Seuss face." (AP)
After 54 regular season games and one seven-game playoff series, the Brooklyn Nets will not bring back interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. After a 35-19 regular season record and a few bounces short of the second round, did he get the short end of the stick? Max Weisberg and Justin DeFeo debate.
Max: Here's how I see P.J.'s impact this season: P.J. Carlesimo took square peg and tried to force it into a round hole. It just doesn't work. I often imagine him trying so hard to pound it into the hole, that eventually it just breaks and goes in.
... MORE →
Putting the pieces together from around the web today on the Brooklyn Nets coaching search:
Here is the official statement about PJ Carlesimo:
"The Brooklyn Nets organization would like to thank P.J. for his efforts with the team in his roles as both head coach and assistant, and for his contributions to the team's success both on and off the court. We wish P.J. and his family only the best in the years to come."
The Brooklyn Nets will face the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, starting Saturday night at 8 P.M. Today and tomorrow, we'll take a look at how the teams match up.
P.J. Carlesimo (AP)
P.J. Carlesimo (AP)
After resting starters Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Reggie Evans, and Brook Lopez, along with bench players Keith Bogans and Jerry Stackhouse, with various hilarious ailments that I wish anagrammed to "We're resting our guys for the playoffs you idiots," I asked Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo in the post-game press conference if he'd run a similar rotation -- or lack thereof -- Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons in the season finale.... MORE →
Andray Blatche (AP)
Gerald Wallace (AP)
"I don't count how many times he shoots," Carlesimo added. "I feel he's gonna come out of it. He's shot it too well, he's scored too much throughout his career, that he'll be fine. I just think that the combination of the injuries and the way he's been struggling. But he's gonna play. He's gonna play minutes, for sure."
In 25 games since the All-Star break, Wallace has shot just 33% from the field on 6.4 field goal attempts per game, a punitive 13.7% from three-point range, and 60.8% from the line -- all well below his career averages. He's shot over 50% in a game just once since February 8th and played 31 minutes against the Charlotte Bobcats on April 6th without registering a field goal.
