Okay for those of you who don't follow basketball, the New Jersey Nets are 4-48.
That's right, 4 wins...48 losses. That the equivalent of beyond bad...putrid even...dirty, rotten. The Nets are currently on pace to tying the worst record in NBA history which is held by the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73). We are now at the All-Star break.
For the Nets, the All-Star break is a time of reflection...a time to get away for a weekend so they won't wallow in their 48 losses. But if you ask me, the Nets have been away from basketball all season. I think the UConn women's basketball team can blow them out.
But anyway, the Nets coaching staff is in shambles, they had 1 coach for what seems like a few weeks, then an interim coach before the GM took over as the coach. It's obvious that he doesn't want to coach the team, but he will at least bear the responsibility which isn't a good look for anybody in my opinion. The Nets do have a new majority owner in Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, so he and Jay-Z (he owns part of the team too) are working together to solve this 4-48 problem.
Moving the team to Brooklyn is going to happen, the stadium is in the works right now so I won't go into the whole "a change of atmosphere will change the losing culture" trick. So the next best thing to discuss will be the coaching situation. There's speculation on Rick Pitino who has ties to Mikhail Prokhorov...what kind of ties, I don't know. Pitino went from being the best coach in the state of Kentucky to not being a thought right now because of his "step off, I'm doing the hump" sex/extortion scandal and John Calipari and John Wall running Kentucky (or in John Wall's case Kent-C-U-KY).
Then there's the thought of the Nets picking up Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. According to the Nets, Coach K is their first choice. That idea is stupid, even if they give the man a GM job as well. Why would you go from being the god of Duke basketball where you are legend to coaching the Nets...or any professional team for that matter. The closest Coach K will come to coaching in the NBA will be the Olympic basketball team...which he already did. Of course you would want to go after Coach K if you are an NBA franchise in need of help, but you better have a back-up plan, because you're going to need it. It seems like Coach K is sought after every few years. Remember when the Phil Jackson sort of left the Lakers for five minutes? Coach K was the first option. But I will happily eat my words if Coach K goes to the Nets.
So that leaves the Nets shopping. Let's assume that Pitino's denial is true. Who does that leave? Dare I say there are but a few real options. 1)They can bring back Byron Scott, a coach who has professional experience and he's actually a good coach. 2)Patrick Ewing...he wants a head coaching gig, but to be honest, he has no head coaching experience (plus Dwight Howard needs to perfect that short range jumper) so the Nets won't be interested. It's a bum deal for "Patrick Chewing", but that's the way it is sometimes. The Nets will probably want a high profile somewhat successful coach which leads me to number 3...Avery Johnson. I know he's not really high profile compared to the college guys, but he's a grinder (even though it sounds like he spits when he talks). He has a good coaching history, much like Byron Scott and he hasn't coached the Nets before unlike Scott.
So here's my order in which the Nets should hire.
1)Avery Johnson
2)Byron Scott
3)Rick Pitino
4)Mike Krzyzewski
5)Patrick Ewing
Honorable mention: Del Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff, and Reggie Theus.
Once again, I will eat my words if Coach K accepts any offer from the Nets. Let's keep in mind that this coaching decision will possibly affect the new class of free agents (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Stoudamire, Joe Johnson, etc). So ask yourself this, which coach would give the Nets the best shot at winning the "LeBron sweepstakes"?
