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Long Island Nets name two assistant coaches, an assistant GM and a head athletic trainer.

Mike Babul
thesunchronicle.com

Not long after acquiring Anthony Brown in a trade for Tahjere McCall, the Long Island Nets announced changes in their front office, coaching staff and performance team.

Long Island has hired Ronnie Burrell and Mike Babul as assistant coaches to work with new head coach Shaun Fein. Long Island has also named Matt Tellem their assistant general manager and Jana Austin as their head athletic trainer. Tellem will retain his role as Brooklyn’s strategic planning director.

Burrell and Babul will join Milt Palacio as Fein’s assistant coaches. Palacio spent last season with Long Island, serving as an assistant to former head coach Will Weaver, now the head coach of the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia.

Burrell served as a player development and video assistant for the Brooklyn Nets last season. Prior to joining the Nets organization, Burrell worked as a graduate assistant with the men’s basketball team at Florida Atlantic University while earning his Master of Business Administration.

Bubul joins the Nets organization following seven seasons working as an associate head coach at Wagner College. He served four seasons with Wagner College as an associate head coach and the three seasons prior as an assistant coach. In addition to his coaching, Burrell has played a total of 11 professional seasons, 2005-16, overseas, splitting time in France, Germany, and Poland.

Tellem, Long Island’s new assistant GM working with long time colleague Matt Riccardi, is entering his ninth season with the Nets organization and will retain his title as director of strategic planning for Brooklyn in addition to his new role with Long Island. He previously served as the team’s basketball information coordinator for the first seven seasons (2011-18). His father, Arn, is the vice chairman of the Pistons.

Austin, Long Island’s new athletic trainer, is entering her second season with the Nets organization. Last season, she served as an assistant athletic trainer. Prior to joining the Nets organization, Austin spent the 2017-18 season with the NBA G League Santa Cruz Warriors