The Nets handed the Bobcats their 17th straight loss last night under newly-minted interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Here's a look at the latest out of Brooklyn as we wonder how long the former Seton Hall head man will get to keep that mantle..
- Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson is not among the candidates to coach the Nets this season, reports Sam Amick of SI.com, despite earlier indication that he was receiving strong consideration. Amick also notes that Jeff Van Gundy, who doesn't want to lobby for the job while Carlesimo is in place, would prefer to stay out of coaching while his daughter finishes her senior year of high school.
Earlier updates:
- If Phil Jackson doesn't agree to coach the Nets this season, as he is reportedly relucntant to do, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that the Nets may decide to finish the season with Carlesimo on the bench and renew their coaching search in the offseason, when Jackson would be more willing to come aboard. The list of coaching hopefuls could be longer by then, but at the moment, GM Billy King is expected to propose Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Nate McMillan and Mike Dunleavy as candidates to owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
- Gerald Wallace, who was said to be one of Avery Johnson's biggest supporters, isn't thrilled with how his tenure came to an end, according to the Associated Press. "To me, it's kind of frustrating and sad because that's the first time in my career that a coach's been let go in the middle of the season like that," Wallace said. "But I understand the business part of it. We move on and obviously regardless of who's sitting at the head of the chair, we know what we got to do as players."
- Avery Johnson was said to be surprised by the Nets' move to fire him, but he shouldn't be, writes HoopsHype's Peter May. Johnson should have seen the writing on the wall when Prokhorov denied his request for a contract extension, May opines.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) spoke with guard MarShon Brooks, who is excited about a new opportunity to play after being buried on the bench by Johnson. Brooks and Kris Humphries both seemed to be strong trade candidates as their roles were significantly reduced this season.