David Aldridge defends Billy King, says look higher in organization

When David Aldridge was asked by a Nets fan for his opinion on whether so many of Billy King's moves were justified, he defended Brooklyn's GM and said fans should look higher up the organization chart. Moreover, he doesn't think King's record is that bad, citing the team's playoff runs, but added now that the team's coaching situation appears to be settled, expect Mikhail Prokhorov to more closely monitor King.

Here's the exchange with fan Jesse Jobin.

Many Brooklyn Nets fans are calling for Billy King's job for many moves he has made since being hired with us. My question is: including last night, are these transactions he's made in recent years justified or has it actually hurt our future?

Look, I don't think King's record is as bad as at least some Nets fans believe. They had an owner who wanted to contend right away, so King traded for Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, then went for it by dealing for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce when Brooklyn couldn't get Dwight Howard. Garnett and Pierce didn't work out, and you can blame King for that, I guess, but Brooklyn's been in the playoffs the last three seasons -- and King certainly can't be blamed for Jason Kidd's still-unbelievable power grab and exit a year ago. Certainly, now that he's changed coaches multiple times, owner Mikhail Prokhorov will evaluate King more directly.

Privately, Nets ownership has said the burden is on them, that the buck stops in Moscow. King for his part has always said player personnel decisions have been joint ... and say league sources, there have been disagreements between ownership and management.

Aldridge also noted that while he's not that crazy about the pick of injured Syracuse freshman Chris McCullough at No. 29, he fully endorsed the trade that brought the Nets Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Steve Blake.