The Brooklyn Nets coaching search has been a bit of a carousel, to say the least. First they were interested in Phil Jackson. He declined. Then Jeff Van Gundy. He won’t comment on the alleged “preliminary contact.” Then Lionel Hollins was reportedly the frontrunner. Now they’ve cooled on him.
Fred Kerber of the NY Post takes a look at Brooklyn’s coaching search:
If there is an overwhelming front-runner right now, the Nets are guarding it closely, so figure there is a surprise candidate out in left field. General manager Billy King, the guy at the forefront of the hunt, isn’t talking publicly. Suffice it to say the new coach needs to have “development” skills, which repeatedly and endlessly was the knock on Carlesimo and the source of his downfall.
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The waiting process also may signal interest in Brian Shaw, the highly-regarded Pacers assistant. Indiana president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh indicated at the start of the playoffs he would not prevent teams from talking to Shaw. He fielded several calls and asked that teams wait until the end of the playoffs.
An Indiana source stressed the Nets were not among the early callers, but there is a strong connection between King and Walsh (King was an assistant under coach Larry Brown for Walsh in Indiana).
Kerber adds that an NBA source (purely on speculation) believes that the Nets want an “established” coach, and that Scott Skiles’s name has “disappeared” from the Nets’ radar.
With Devin Kharpertian
