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Subtle digs at Jason Kidd surface at Brooklyn Nets Media Day

By Net Income
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Lionel Hollins wouldn't go there during a short press conference at Media Day Friday when asked to compare his practice style with that of Jason Kidd.

"I hear no evil, I see no evil, I speak no evil," said Hollins, smiling. "I don’t even know about that. All I know about is how we’re going to do it."

But off to the side, speaking with Mike Fratello, Hollins was clear about what he thought was lacking last season, and although he never mentioned Kidd by name, his criticism seemed directed at his predecessor.  After all, the buck stops at the coach's office.

He told Fratello...

"When I watched the team from afar last season, being on TV and all, I saw a team that didn't look at cohesive as it needed to be, to be as good as it wanted to be, a little bit of aggressiveness and a little bit of toughness. And since I've been watching preseason workouts with the guys as playing, I see a little bit of the same thing. They play but there's another level of intensity they have to have in order to be really successful and there's another level of unity which I see getting better just this year with different players on the roster. So I see a lot of possibilities, but also see there's going to be a lot of work in order to make those possibilities reality."

The players were subtle as well, with Joe Johnson joking and Andrei Kirilenko quite serious.

"And you're right, [under] Jason Kidd, I mean, we practiced, but," Johnson said, taking a long pause to smile at reporters, "not really."  The writers erupted with knowing laughter.

Kirilenko was not smiling when he gave his assessment. "I think last year people [were] very greedy about [winning a] title and all the stuff around basketball," he said, as quoted by Alex Raskin. "I think this year, like I said, a more working atmosphere."

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