Avery Johnson is believed to be the leading candidate for the Nets' head coaching job and may have been even before Jeff Van Gundy declined interest and Tom Thibodeau agreed to a deal with the Bulls. So says the Daily News. Meanwhile, ESPN and Sports Illustrated are reporting that Johnson may also be one of the finalists for the Hawks' head coaching job along with Dwane Casey, the Mavericks assistant.
The Daily News' Mitch Lawrence describes Johnson as "the favorite from day one of Rod Thorn's coaching search," and quotes Byron Scott as saying, "So unless Rod wants to coach - and I know he doesn't want to do that - I think Avery is the front-runner, I can't think of anyone else they'd be looking at."
Johnson has met with Rod Thorn at least once, according to reports.