Avery Johnson will be tough, disciplined and hold people accountable. But will he be so over-the-top in those aspects of coaching that he will hurt his team and himself, as he did in Dallas? That's the question for the Nets and Johnson himself.
You'd think from reading stories on the Nets' temporary move to Newark, the arena's name was the "Purgatory Center", not the "Prudential Center". It's been viewed as that much of a downer. But HoopsWorld's Alex Raskin argues the intimate feel of "The Rock" may be a positive, not a negative in free agency.
Last summer, Yi was supposed to be "the Muscle Devil" as he worked mainly on his strength. Now, after a season where he averaged 12 and 7, but missed 27 games, he's forcusing on his skills: getting open, defense, rebounding.
In spite of losses exceeding $60 million a year, the Nets' new owner believes the team can eventually make money, says an aide to Mikhail Prokhorov. Sergey Kushchenko ran CSKA Moscow for Prokhorov and now runs the Russian Biathlon Union for him.
Remember how hectic it was right after Mikhail Prokhorov bought the team last month? It's going to be the same thing next week. Avery Johnson meets with Prokhorov on Sunday at the NBA Finals and...
The Nets made official on Thursday afternoon what we learned about 24 hours earlier. They have reached an agreement to make Avery Johnson their next head coach.
Call it a meat market if you will, but like the NFL, the NBA is creating a series of pre-draft camps to bring together dozens of draft prospects to work out in front of dozens of NBA executives. It gives lot of lesser known talents an opportunity to break through.
ESPN's Marc Stein says the Nets biggest selling point in free agency is not their draft pick nor Avery Johnson's winning percentage, but their owner "who everyone is curious about". Even if they had lost out on Johnson, Stein argues, "they were going to be in the same free agent position no matter who they hired."
He announced the hire himself on national TV. He said he's cleaning house and hiring all new assistants. He spoke to whoever he wanted. Now Avery Johnson is getting ready for a whirlwind, a meeting with Mikhail Prokhorov in the Finals, a New York press conference and a reunion with Devin Harris.
