Though it’s very possible that Lakers coach Phil Jackson could be coaching his last season in Los Angeles, Nets President Rod Thorn threw some cold water on the idea that he is a potential candidate for the New Jersey vacancy:
“I don’t see him leaving there,” Thorn said. “I think he will probably stay there until he retires.”
I still think that Mikhail Prokhorov is going to make a huge splash when it comes to finding a head coaches. There are a lot of assistants in the NBA whose names are being floated into the Nets coaching discussion, and while it would make sense to bring in one of these assistants, I just don’t see Prokhorov’s first personnel decision being promoting another team’s assistant to a head coaching job. He’s going to want a name. Jackson and Coach K may be unlikely, but I think they would be easier for Prokhorov to woo to the Nets than LeBron James and Chris Bosh. And while the rationale basketball person in me wants to see the Nets look to build something by bringing in a young, defensive-minded coach, I can’t say the diehard fan in me doesn’t want to see Prokhorov go for broke and leave a huge bag of money on Phil Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy’s doorstep.
