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Should Brooklyn Nets make a run at Doc Rivers? It would cost them

By Net Income
Jim Rogash

There are rumors and then there are suggestions by pundits. As the Nets' search for a new coach gets underway, Mike Vaccaro and Dave D'Alessandro think the Nets should make a run for Doc Rivers, who is under contract through 2016 ... although he is considering not coaching anywhere next season.

Vaccaro writes in the Post that after looking at all the candidates being mentioned so far...

Still, there is one ideal candidate King has to investigate, even if there’s only a five or 10-percent chance it could happen, because the more you look at the Nets the more you realize there is really only one man with the credibility, the gravitas, the clout and the capital to take this existing core and teach it how to act — and play — better than they’ve shown as a group so far.

D'Alessandro goes even further...

Rivers is arguably the finest coach in the NBA, and while he could stay in Boston for as long as he would like, the Celtics could be entering a protracted rebuilding phase that would go well beyond the three seasons remaining on his present contract. It is also unclear whether Rivers and Danny Ainge will agree on the direction that the rebuild should take

Both Vaccaro and D'Alessandro concede that they have no idea whether Rivers would be interested and D'Alessandro notes that Rivers has said he would wait until his youngest son finish high school before pursuing another job. Spencer is a junior.

The latest from Boston is that Rivers is taking some time off to consider whether he will coach the Celtics next season. That doesn't mean Boston would let Rivers coach a division rival. First the Nets would have to get Danny Ainge's permission to even speak with Rivers. Then, there would be the issue of compensation, in the form of player(s) or draft pick(s). With so many other worthy candidates out there, would it make sense?

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