Jason Kidd (AP)
A brief roundup of everything about the current Brooklyn Nets coach search, including the news that one major candidate met with the Nets -- today.... MORE →
phil jackson
Phil Jackson (AP)
Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson has already spurned Brooklyn's offer to become the next Brooklyn Nets head coach, saying he has no interest in returning to coaching. But that hasn't stopped him from talking about the franchise on more than one occasion.
After saying to Dan Patrick earlier this week that Brooklyn was the most attractive destination coaching-wise, Jackson expounded on his comments by commending Brooklyn's roster in the New York Times, saying that he prefers it to the New York Knicks:... MORE →
If the Brooklyn Nets want Phil Jackson in their organization, it won't be in a coaching capacity. Jackson's reiterated many times that he's not interested in a return to coaching. But in an interview with the Hall of Fame coach on The Dan Patrick Show, Jackson says the Nets offered him the opportunity to coach, not an opportunity in the front office.
Jackson expressed that the Brooklyn situation was the most appealing coaching offer to him, calling it "a good situation," but turned it down. Jackson has said before that he's interested in a return to basketball in a front-office capacity, but the Nets only offered him the head coaching position.
The Nets coaching search has stalled while two candidates (Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw and Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins) complete playoff runs.
Who will be Mikhail Prokhorov's first Brooklyn coaching hire? (AP)
LATEST UPDATE: Former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has met with the Milwaukee Bucks about their open coaching position, and a reunion with Deron Williams in Brooklyn looks unlikely. More
Update: An insider tells NetsDaily that Phil Jackson is the only candidate the Nets have contacted so far. More
Update: Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge tells WEEI radio that he expects Doc Rivers back on the sidelines for Boston next year. More
Update: Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is a team on Brooklyn's radar, should the Grizzlies decide not to re-sign Hollins after this season. More
Update: Despite earlier reports that both sides aren't interested, Jeff Van Gundy could still get a call from Brooklyn. More
Update: Brooklyn isn't the only team looking at Brian Shaw. More
Update: Jerry Sloan says he's spoken with a couple of teams. More
The Brooklyn Nets have opened up perhaps the most important coaching search in franchise history -- with the team finally in Brooklyn, with a talent-laden roster that wasn't properly utilized in its first year, the direction the team takes with its next coach could set up the next decade of relevance. Here's a command central of every coach connected to the search -- even if, at this time, they're not being considered for the position. Things change in an instant, after all.
Start with: Larry Brown
Larry Brown | Mike Dunleavy | Lionel Hollins | Phil Jackson | Nate McMillan | Doc Rivers | Brian Shaw | Scott Skiles | Jerry Sloan | Jeff Van Gundy | Stan Van Gundy
Phil Jackson, currently advising the Detroit Pistons with their coaching search, is doing it as a favor to Pistons owner and friend Tom Gores, and "specifically left it open" so that he could look for front office jobs elsewhere, according to Marc Stein of ESPN. The Brooklyn Nets are open to Jackson coming on in a front office capacity, as it seems he does not desire a coaching position. Jackson, Larry Brown, and Brian Shaw still lead the list.
Stein also reports that the Nets are "lukewarm" on the idea of bringing in former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Sloan has said he would "definitely listen" if called, despite reports that he retired partially due to his uneasy relationship with former Jazz guard and current Brooklyn Nets player Deron Williams.
Stein reiterated earlier reports that the Nets are not interested in Jeff or Stan Van Gundy, adding that former Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, and current Houston Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson are names the Nets are not pursuing at this time.
Opinion: an ideal situation for Brooklyn would be if they lured Phil Jackson in a presidential capacity to steer the franchise's culture, and hired Brian Shaw as a first-time coach.
Read More: Del Negro out in L.A.? Chris Paul staying?
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.
... MORE →
Putting the pieces together from around the web today on the Brooklyn Nets coaching search:
- Billy King: "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 best to look elsewhere to try and find the right fit. I thanked him, he did a hell of a job for us in a difficult situation, but by doing it now, there's a lot of jobs open -- hopefully it gives P.J. a chance and gives us a chance with a lot of candidates out there to explore and that's what we'll do in the next couple weeks."
- King added that Phil Jackson will get a call. The only person King would rule out? His former coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, joking that he didn't want to anger his alumni base.
- Jeff Van Gundy to Barbara Baker on the Nets opening: "My comment is I have no comment. Good to see you, though."
- David Aldridge: Larry Brown, the Van Gundy brothers, and Phil Jackson -- but Phil doesn't want a coaching role.
- Deron Williams would "love" to play for Jerry Sloan again.
- More Deron Williams: he'd like a "creative offensive coach."
- The Nets have not reached out to Brian Shaw, thanks to an unwritten NBA rule: you don't ask during the playoffs. Shaw is one of my favorite candidates for the job.
- Shaw has no head coaching experience at the NBA level, which could be an issue for Williams and Reggie Evans, who both say the team needs an experienced head coach, but not for Billy King, who cited Eric Spoelstra and Tom Thibodeau as examples of first-time coaches who found success.
Phil Jackson may return to the NBA soon. (AP)
Numerous reports recently have indicated that former coach, 11-time NBA champion as coach, and Hall of Famer Phil Jackson has an interest in returning to the NBA in an executive position, most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle sat down with Jackson himself, who gave a perfectly Phil Jacksonian answer to that question: direct, straightforward, and still vague.
... MORE →
As has been widely reported tonight, the controlling stake in the Sacramento Kings has been sold to a Seattle-based group for roughly $340 million, with plans to move the Kings to Seattle to reclaim the Seattle Supersonics.
According to a source connected to Peter Vecsey, should the deal go through, Phil Jackson will join the Sonics in a non-coaching role:
Source says almost living lock Phil Jackson will become front office face of Seattle-bound Kings' franchise. Won't coach. Will mentor choice
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) January 21, 2013
Phil Jackson is allegedly Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov's top target for head coach, and according to some reports would have contacted him after the season about his interest in the coaching job.
The sale to the Seattle-based group is not finalized, and Sacramento-based groups still have time to make a counter-offer to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
The Brooklyn Nets are in no rush to replace interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, and Carlesimo may even last the full season -- but they have their sights set high. According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, the organization will "woo" 11-time championship coach Phil Jackson "whenever he is ready to be wooed," whether that's tomorrow, in the summer, or beyond. There are no other serious candidates for the job, though Jeff Van Gundy was floated as a potential backup plan should Jackson pass.
Beck also contends that there has been no contact between the Nets and Jackson as of yet, and that Jackson has never taken over a team in the middle of the season.
Jackson, incidentally, got engaged tonight to long-time girlfriend Jeanie Buss, daughter of Jerry Buss, the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Read More: Howard Beck, New York Times -- Carlesimo’s Team Should Stay So, at Least for Now
Mike Mazzeo of ESPN reports that Billy King has not contacted any potential coaching prospects. In an interview with ESPN NY radio on Sunday morning, King said:
"We've put our support behind (P.J.) and then we'll look at things and evaluate it later," King said. "I know people have been throwing lists together and things like that, but we have not contacted anybody. ... We've made the move and now we're going to let P.J. coach."
While King didn't want to put a timetable on anything, he did suggest that Carlesimo could conceivably finish out the season, calling it "a great opportunity" for Johnson's former assistant, who has several years of NBA head coaching experience under his belt with three other franchises.
Sources had told ESPN.com that the Nets have made Jackson, an 11-time NBA coaching champion, their top target to replace Johnson on a permanent basis. But when King was asked about when he was going to contact Jackson, he replied, "I don't know how many times I can say it or Mikhail can say it. P.J.'s our coach. We're gonna let him coach and then re-evaluate things. I know Mikhail said it about 10 times when he was asked, and I've been saying it, and I think people just keep dismissing what we say."
