K.C. Johnson, the respected Chicago Bulls beat writer, says the Nets are among those teams interested in Ron Adams who until July 1 was Tom Thibodeau's top assistant, then was canned unceremoniously by GM Gar Forman. Forman who has declined to say why he let Adams go. Among the other teams interested: the Thunder, Spurs, Celtics, Pacers and Clippers.
On Monday night, it was reported that Adams had signed with the Celtics.
The Nets already have five assistant coaches to help Jason Kidd in his transition from player to head coach: Lawrence Frank, lead assistant and possibly the highest paid assistant coach in NBA history; Roy Rogers, big man coach with the Nets, Celtics, Pistons and now Nets again; John Welch, George Karl's righthand man in Denver (whose hiring has yet to be announced); Eric Hughes, a player development specialist who last worked in Toronto; and Doug Overton, the only assistant retained from the Avery Johnson era. They also have strength and conditioning coach, Dr. Jeremy Bettle.
Dennis Scott of NBA TV said at the end of Thursday's game that the Nets were looking to hire one more assistant for Kidd and it that's accurate, they could do a lot worse than Adams. He served as lead assistant to Scott Skiles during his stint in Chicago; Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City and then most recently on a series of one-year deals with the Bulls. He's been in the NBA for 20 years as an assistant and advance scout. He's been praised for his development work, particularly on defense, and his excellent relationships with players.
Why was he dumped? He supposedly offered internal criticism of the front office's player personnel moves and the Bulls ownership is notoriously cheap.
Is six assistants too much? Maybe, but at one point, Mark Cuban had 11!
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