The Brooklyn Nets have given former head coach and new Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd the permission to speak with Nets assistant coach Joe Prunty, according to a report by David Aldridge of TNT:
Jason Kidd has permission from the Nets to speak with top assistant Joe Prunty, per source. Prunty is also Great Britain's national team HC.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 8, 2014
Prunty was invited to join the Nets staff by Kidd when Kidd was hired as one of his “all-star” cast of assistants led by Lawrence Frank. He has been an assistant in the NBA since 2002, in stints with the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks (where he coached Kidd), Portland Trail Blazers, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Prunty also coached the team for the first two games of the season as Kidd served his suspension for a DUI.
It’s already expected that Kidd will bring along assistants Eric Hughes and Sean Sweeney, though it seems that Lawrence Frank won’t be going anywhere.
There’s no official word yet on Lionel Hollins’s staff, and we may not get confirmation on it for some time. Nets GM Billy King said Monday that getting the assistants isn’t something that needs to be done right away. Hollins added that he’s already reached out to some people who have declined. We’ll wait and see what happens.
Prunty is not with the Nets in Orlando during Summer League: as Aldridge mentioned, Prunty is also the head coach of the Great Britain men’s national basketball team, which is why he’s not with the team. “He wanted to go down (to Orlando) but I said, “look, spend time with your family, get ready, because you’re going to be gone on the road for like six weeks,” King said.
