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For Nets, It Will Be a New Day; For Johnson, a Chance at Redemption

AP
AP

The Nets under Kiki Vandeweghe were, shall we say, laid back if not laid out (as in funeral).  There was, as one pundit noted, a "Southern California" feel to his style.  With Avery Johnson, the Nets could not have found a more different coach.  The Little General didn't get that nickname because he's so nice.

There's been much discussion about how prepared Johnson is, how personally disciplined he is, how he demands accountability and how he gets the most out of his players through tough love.  But some, like Peter Vecsey,  believe he can't coach the Nets the same way he coached the Mavericks, mainly because that style cost him his job and may have cost his team a championship. Others wonder how free agents will react to his in-your-face style.

The writers who cover the Nets and Vecsey take a look at the positives and negatives of Johnson's tenure in Dallas, his coaching style and what drove Rod Thorn to hire him.