Stan Van Gundy, who holds a dual role with the Pistons as executive and coach, says if the Nets intend to hire separate people to fill their vacant GM and coaching slots they should begin with finding a GM, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I don’t think you can hire — if you’re going to hire two people, you can’t hire the employee before the boss,” said Van Gundy. “That just doesn’t make any sense to me. And that’s immediately going to create tension, right there, [that] the guy that’s your boss, that you report to … didn’t hire you? I mean, we see it in college coaching all the time. It’s tenuous, anyway, but if you were there before and there’s a new AD [athletic director] coming in, good luck to you. The guy’s looking for the first sign [to fire you]. Whereas if the guy hires you, he’s got a little more tendency to give you the benefit of the doubt because it reflects upon him. So if you’re going to hire two, to me you’ve got to hire the GM first. He’s got to have say in who he has as a coach.”
Here’s the latest from out of the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie says that he views new team executive Jerry Colangelo as a co-worker who is on equal footing as himself and not necessarily as his boss, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. When asked if he viewed Colangelo as a potential threat to his position, Hinkie said, “I’m a big believer in the meritocracy of ideas, and your idea had better stand up to scrutiny from all sides. You’d better know your opponents’ arguments better than they do if you want to truly understand what’s best. So I don’t mind the thought that there might be debate about any particular topic.“
- Despite seeing sporadic playing time early in the season, Raptors power forward James Johnson has been a model teammate and has continued to work hard to contribute on the defensive end, Ryan Wolstat of The National Post writes. Johnson is on an expiring contract.
- Jonas Jerebko insists he has no regrets about re-signing with the Celtics this past offseason despite averaging only 13.7 minutes per game this season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “Like I’ve said before, I just want to stay ready when my opportunity comes,” Jerebko told Blakely. “You know with coach [Brad] Stevens that sooner or later, you’re going to get your chance. It’s just a matter of being ready for it and making the most of it. That’s what I try to do every chance I get to play.”