Iannazzone: Thorn Plans for Prokhorov Meeting...and Kiki Firing?

Whats the record for coaching changes in one season…BY ONE TEAM!?

it’s starting to get interesting!

best news ever

Fire Thorn and then have the new GM (hopefully Bryan Colangelo) fire Kiki and bring in his own coach.

@whoop
Four…we are getting there.

this new ownership change is seeming like if its being delayed on purpose.

Oy! This is gonna get ugly at first but then great!

2010 TEAM
John Wall
Courtney Lee
LeBron James
David Lee
Brook Lopez

2010 COACH
Pittino / Coach K / Phil Jackson / SOMEBODY GOOD

(I dreamt that all up last night)

does anyone really doubt a thorn/kiki split right now?

Best news I have heard in a while. Proky putting out a Russian Mafia/Soprano-style hit on Kiki the Wiki, with his fingerprints nowhere near the body..Maybe Kiki will wind up at Florida International, riding pine for Zeke.

Hollah!

Who is this mythological “source with knowledge of organization’s thinking”? Sounds like the main source of all this information isn’t even part of the Nets organization.

I am beginning to wonder whether Mikhail Prokhorov is a person or a deity who is going to save us all!

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g135/gmjigga/savior.jpg

This team is such a mess. Even worse than that season with the JKidd divorce

Interesting that Thorn is meeting with underlings first. I wouldn’t take that as a good sign if I were him.

Cleveland and Indianapolis both had four head coaches in a season, back in the ’80s, I believe.

Holy balls. Do you all realize that if the Nets were to bring in Colangelo and Proky would offer Coach K an ABSURD contract that i’d be shocked if he refused. IF those two things happen the Nets would have to be frontrunners for the FA sweepstakes.

As I said in a earlier thread, Proky would not take over the team till the end of this season. He would not want to own this mess. By that time he will have all the plans in place and will be the new owner of a new team, not the failure we’ve now.

If reports are to be believed, Proky should have been approved by now but it is getting delayed. Reason is what I mentioned above. Mark my words.

haha…it seems like its hard to get a meeting with Proky.

Can we take the question mark off of this heading so it reads thron fires kiki???? I believe that as soon as he is fired, they will start to win games. they are holding back b/c he is ineffective. We may even be able to retain CDR and turn him into a good citizen with the right coach: one with some backbone.

How can this story keep shifting from Prokhorov being approved this weekend, to just paying a visit, to not being allowed to visit, but sending his associates.

I agree that Prokhorov is delaying. I wonder though whether the Board will be meeting nonetheless and Proky’s approval would be discussed. They could have some sort of preliminary vote and finalize it at Proky’s convenience – sort of like how the Senate has a pre-vote to make sure they can avoid cloture.

The problem with this delay is that Thorn has until Thursday to pull off any last minute trade(s). He needs Proky’s blessing and probably some promise for Cash, as needed (which Ratner would officially sign off on), not to mention trading 1 or 2 of the 10 future draft picks.

I can’t really see anything good happening without including some draft pick and Cash, because Yi, CDR, Hassell and Hayes just wouldn’t bring much (won’t even mention Battie, Simmons and Boone, as they are fillers).

If Rod trades away Yi, it would be a symbol of Kiki’s coming demise. Thorn should remind Proky that LeBron didn’t even mention Yi as an asset on the Nets!

One simple question. Couldn’t Prokhorov just pick up the telephone and speak to Rod and Yormarket? Is that forbidden by CBA rules?

I believe Prokhorov changed plans because he met Russia’s president Thursday in Tomsk, Russia, to discuss innovation in Russian industry. He is part of a presidential commission on the subject.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/business-asked-to-help-modernize/399604.html

That’s far from Dallas…verrrrry far.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=tomsk&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS352US352&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

The Olympic opening ceremony is tonight in Vancouver. As head of Russia’s Biathlon Federation he would want to be there. Biathlon competition begins Saturday with a woman’s event.

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-biathlon/

He IS the most interesting man in the world.

@jerry25
They’re talking about HIS contract, a multi million dollar contract. You dont do that over the phone.

1) How good is Proko’s English to begin with? English is not commonplace in Russia.

2) Proko is a mob boss. You only get to speak with him once you climb the ladder/chain of command :)

This guy is already building up his legend…and it’s clear he’d rather be feared than loved by his employees.

…Just a management observation.

I can hear the Godfather music playing once Thorn finally gets permitted to sit down with the man himself.

@BigTom
His English is excellent.

I feel bad for Kiki. Maybe he made some big mistakes, but to leave him “twisting in the wind” is not right.

I wouldn’t feel to safe if I was Thorn. He first has to pass the “audition” with top aides, and then maybe he gets to meet with the “Boss”.

@ Big Tom. All I can say is: “you want trade? I hevv Lacquer box.”

English has been commonly spoken in Russia for a long time. . . .

@Mike
I feel bad for NO ONE in this mess.

People need to relax about Thorn meeting the underlings. The guy has to be in Vancouver. Thorn has to be in Dallas. RELAX!!!! Anyway if you read article. According to Al, NBA told Nikolai he shouldnt be in Dallas anyway because he is not officially an Owner yet. RELAX!!! PEOPLE!!!!

So, Where should I send my singing telegram asking him to trade Yi and CDR to Sacramento for Jason Thompson and Ime Udoka? Vancouver or Dallas?

Thon will never nmake it to that second meeting with Prokie Dokie… This season may not be his fault given The Rat, but he is toast nonetheless.

Old “Boss” / New “Boss”; lyrics by R. Thorn

“Got a meeting with a man on the other side
 Hey Brett, this guy, he’s the real thing
 So if you want to come along
 You gotta promise you won’t say anything
`Cause this guy don’t dance
 And the word’s been passed this is our last chance”

@NI
With the money that people are saying that Proky should spend on Coach K. and Jerry C., a few million to extend Thorn isn’t a big deal, though I’m sure they would need to look each other in the eyes and shake at some point.

However, why wouldn’t a promise on the phone be good enough for now and start talking trade deadline deals. (maybe they have talked before or at least with the Associates). Thorn could shake hands on the 19th and fire Kiki on the 20th. Besides, Proky isn’t the owner yet, so he can’t enter into a formal contract with Thorn yet. Ratner would have to do that. Has anyone figured that part of the story out yet??

Even if Thorn fired Kiki next week, Rod still couldn’t mention Prokhorov by name. We would only assume that it had his blessing.

Kiki to the Nets is Isiah to the Knicks imo. It didn’t take as many bad moves, but that just proves how terrible Kiki really is. Firing Frank wasn’t a terrible move, but I’m pretty sure we’d have more than 4 wins right now. Whoever is in charge of making moves this weekend, for the love of god, get rid of Kiki and Yi. Thorn should stay though.

@SIC
Yes, but all this was known for weeks. Only at last moment did NBA say he couldn’t (shouldn’t) be in Dallas anyway.
I lot of NBA people wanted to meet with Proky.

Everything may be true about Proky needing to be in Vancouver, but the fact remains that the NBA was willing to vote on Proky this weekend (and he postponed that vote), and noone from the NBA said anything after it was clear that Proky didn’t want to be officially approved at this time.

The question I propose for PTI today is what is the Percentage that Thorn will never be invited to meet with Proky in Vancouver? (meaning Proky goes with Jerry C at this time)

I say 10% chance.

Thorn deserves to get axed but Proky would not start out his NBA career by firing one of the senior members of the NBA. Everybody seems to love and/or respect Thorn.

Thorn will still have a job but probably at a greatly reduced role and salary. If Thorn decides to resign, Proky’s hands would be clean, sort of.

Then again maybe Proky loves Thorn and leaves him in charge.

Either way it probably won’t matter. What we really need is a coach and some good players.

How can you say that firing Frank wasn’t a terrible move? Do you really think there would be all this drama and backstabbing if Frank was still around?

well . . . Kiki WOULD still be GM . . . so . . .

But the team would at least be TRYING to win games. It would not be a wasted year for the development of some of these guys.

I guess this really means we wont be making any moves by the deadline. If he isnt in charge yet, and hasnt even really got to the interview process of these things, then I dont see us making any trades… which sucks, because we need some.

all this “reporting” is getting annoying. all these facts from “sources” who apparently don’t have names, or if their names were revealed would show how little credibility the report has.

Does anybody know if Proky is going to be anointed this weekend?

Or are we going to have to sweat it out for another few months?

I’m starting to get “Uncomfortably Numb”.

Dumpy when the team stops playing for a coach it’s time to let him go. End of story.

I wonder if Prokys Biathlon team also doubles as the “firing squad”.

@Mike

Russian sports site said he is…then said maybe One other report on this side of the ocean says he is, but most others say he is not. Nets didnt know.

As you know, it’s a mess. D’Alessandro is in Vancouver covering the Olympics.

Thats awesome…i just wish they met this weekend…oh well…trade deadline a week away…wo!

I was wondering where D’Alessandro was. Hopefully he’ll be keeping tabs on Proky and get us a story.

I guess Krzyzewski really is a possibility. I didn’t think he’d be interested, but if Proky wants him i’m sure Coach K will have his price. I’d still rather have an NBA coach, but i guess he’ll give the Nets some legitimacy and possibly attract 1 or 2 of the big Free Agents.

If you don’t fire Frank and make Kiki the coach, Kiki could have always said I could have done better than Frank and it would be hard to argue with that. Now we know. Even thou Frank couldn’t coach and I knew from day one what Thorn was up too when he fired Frank, (I posted it) looking back, I think Thorn might have been better off letting Frank take a leave of absence, letting Kiki sink himself and then bring back Frank to finish the season. Thorn just needed to put Kiki in his place and Frank was the best coach we had for this mess even thou he is garbage like the rest of the team.
I wonder if Thorn will have the HOT LINE to Proky in his office.

Cant wait till they meet the boss and he fires both of them.
And gets McGrady and Cook for the vets Simmons, Battie, and Hassell.

Of course the big story on ESPN – Around The Horn is Coach K going to the Nets. Most everyone says No, except the Boston woman who defends the Nets and their future.

Al Ian. deserves some credit for drumming up this story in the first place – with the help of an unnamed NBA source to reference how the Nets think. When there are no Big trades, this story will do.

ESPN should instead be focusing on something real, like whether Thorn would actually meet and be approved by Proky and whether and when Kiki would be fired.

Hopefully this ends with Kiki’s firing. Hopefully things will move in that direction because he has done enough damage.

Thorn deserves to have his head cut off during the purge, but one thing at a time.

@ jj – Yes, and AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firing Thorn for Colangelo is one thing….firing him for some unkown variable is quite another. Thorn is not as bad at his job as this futile season would make him out to be. I still think there are few better than him with the big picture moves…and we will be making a bunch of those in short order.

Dear Santa, please fire kiki. I’m 6 years old and a good boy, grant me this wish. Please visit me in fantasy land.

Good stuff. Equally good work by NetsDaily, putting us in the know!!!

Thorn’s most damning mistake this season was making Kiki head coach to teach him a lesson. You don’t involve your personal feelings when it comes to this stuff because instead of a year of learning and player development we instead have internal strife, setbacks, and embarrassment. The blame falls right on his lap.

Had Frank remained, he would have developed an Ulcer as big as Shaq by now. He was done a favor by Thorn and that blemish on Frank has now been cleared with the help of Kiki.

Regarding trades, I don’t see why some neutral trade of expirings couldn’t still happen without Proky. However, even something like CDR+Hassell would be difficult if it brought back an extra big contract for next year.

That is why Yi (4 million in 2010) is needed for a good trade. However, Thorn wouldn’t dare trade Yi without Proky’s clear (though private) approval, because that would go against the wishes of Yormarket in Kiki. Thorn also wouldn’t give up a draft pick without Proky’s blessing.

Thorn would also have to discuss plans for PF with Proky before trading Yi – eg. to go after DLee, Bosh, Amare or Boozer this summer or whether to draft a PF if Nets get #3/#4 pick.

There is still time after Monday to get a couple of trades done.

I prefer Colangelo over Thorn but it should be one or the other.

I actually think Kiki got as much as he could for the big three and has drafted well. Humphries was also a good trade.

So I guess I am supportive of Kiki although I will not be upset WHEN he is fired.

@David:

Why not keep Thorn for now and get Jerry C. and some later time? Proky could afford to give Thorn a short term deal and let him step down if things don’t get better.

Do we know who was making those trades? Most people would believe that Thorn was behind those trades and draft picks, although we know that Kiki likes Yi.

I think Kiki has done a very good job as a GM. He is not a coach and never should have been made a coach. But as a GM his record is quite good. The Humphries for Najera trade was a great deal. Even Alston for Quinn was a good trade. Draft wise our best drafts have been with Kiki at the reigns (Brook, Ryan, CDR, TWill). Look at Rod’s draft record – aside from the RJ, Twin for Eddie Griffin move, and Kristic, he has been horrible.

I would like to see the Nets keep Kiki as GM, fire Thorn and bring in Colangelo. I think the Nets would be in a much better position if they did this to be honest.

I would rather have a coach and GM with NBA experience. I can picture Coach K as the second coming of John Calipari.

Ryan,

I think the Nets would be in a better position if they take out the trash

just wondering, who hired kiki in the first place?

The mistake was making Kiki the coach. He is not a coach. I think it was all about a power play between Rod and Kiki and vying for Proky. Honestly making a GM the coach of a team with young kids without a veteran presence is the recipe for disaster.

I think Rod forcing this on Kiki was essentially a power play to try and rid himself of Kiki. This season is developing a losing culture around the young core and all the problems you are reading about is from a lack of veterans in the locker room to a lack of a seasoned coach. If you are going with a youth movement – you can’t have an inexperienced coach. The Nets should have kept Frank as coach all season (or at least until the All Star break) and then made their move then. At least this way there would have been a real coach mannning the ship.

This is the most important draft the Nets have had in years. They need to hit a homerun with their pick but probably more importantly they need to score with that Dallas pick.

I monitor the Western conference schedule and standings on a daily basis now. There is a very good chance that Dallas falls out of the playoffs. They have gone thru a rough stretch and I believe are now the 5th seed. There are strong teams like OKC, Portland and Houston who can knock them out. If that Dallas pick becomes a lottery pick – that becomes the MOST important pick of this regime. It would likely be a 10-14th pick and the Nets NEED to find a solid rotational guy to be in the top 7 on the team. They can not mess up this pick like they did with Wright, Planinic, Marcus Williams, etc.

And Kiki has a much better record at drafting guys than Rod has. This is the entire reason that if I were Proky I would keep Kiki as GM and fire Thorn and bring in Colangelo Sr.

And at least this season has shown everyone that we need a very well respected coach to get the most out of this team who is going to command respect from day 1. Coach K would be a good choice as he is a good teacher of the game, along with having a very high profile amongst NBA players due to his Team USA coaching position.

Pitino rumors are simply a pipe dream on Pitino’s part. There is no shot Proky hires him. If the Nets go after Calipari though….they probably believe that there is a secret agreement with Lebron. Particularly if we get the top pick and get Wall – the chances of a Coach Cal hire increase substantially due to his ties with Lebron. And notice the reports that Proky has already met with Jay-Z. They were not talking about his latest Blueprint album – the conversation was entirely surrounding can we get Lebron to NJ and what do we need to do to entice him?

A core of Wall, Harris, Lee (off the bench), CDR (off the bench) and Brook along with complementary pieces like Hump and TWill and a major coach could make this a reality.

That is why that Dallas pick (and our 2nd rounder) are of utmost importance this year. We need to get 2 solid rotation players with those 2 picks. The top teams (Lakers, Boston, Spurs, etc) have always done a good job of mining the bottom of the first round and the second round for talented rotation players to come off the bench. That is what Kiki’s job should be this year. Not coaching.

The reason to get JC now is Coach K and the free agents.

I really don’t trust Rod alone in the draft.

Been going on for centuries. The King to avoid an overthrow of his Throne would send his his rival off to war hoping he would get killed. If he didn’t go he would be called a coward. It sure worked with Kiki, he got killed. However, if the rival came back a hero the King was overthrown. If Kiki could have mustered a 10 game winning streak he would have been a hero and Thorn a goner. However I am sure Thorn knew with Kiki leading the likes of Yi into battle that wasn’t gonna happen.

@tom

Pretty funny. You may be right that rod knew it was him or kiki.

Still don’t trust Rod in the draft. JC baby!

Also, with Coach K…the Nets will quickly challenge the Knicks for biggest basketball story in NYC.

Can we please ban the phrase “mark my words”? It is such hollow empty phrase. No one is remembering who said what. Everyone would be much happier if itjust came up as “**** * **”". Mark my words!

No college coaches! Recruiting doesn’t matter, the game is different, and you can’t discipline effectively in the pros. It really should be the Czar for coach— he’s been very effective at the pro level, especially with young teams, and he knows the Nets. Having him start right after the break would be nice.

I’d prefer coach K, but come on dont blame everything on kiki, he is not a professional coach, neider did he ask for a coaching job in nets, everyone knows he is a temporary option.

Addition by subtraction rarely make things better. Stop concentrating on firing and do your freakin jobs.

Thorn is in deep trouble, firing 2 coaches and GM in a season to save his own job doesn’t inspire confidence. He was the the one in charge, he need to man up and take the blame.

Porky is amazing and he’s not even owner yet….woww
this is a straight up blessing…..
i shuldnt compare him to George Steinbrenner but i will.. he has the chance to become an elite owner who cares about championships (winning) and building a professional workplace

Porky cant come soon enough….