P.J. Carlesimo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Nets Coaching Search

December 30th, 2012 at 2:50pm CST by Sean Highkin

Since the firing of head coach Avery Johnson on Thursday, rumors have swirled around the Brooklyn Nets as to who will replace him. For now, though, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com reports that the team isn't in a hurry to replace interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Nets GM Billy King made it clear that, although the team will continue looking, Carlesimo has the organization's support for the time being.

"We've put our support behind (P.J.) and then we'll look at things and evaluate it later," King said. "I know people have been throwing lists together and things like that, but we have not contacted anybody. … We've made the move and now we're going to let P.J. coach."

Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy are believed to be the Nets' two top priorities in terms of head coaching targets. Former Blazers coach Nate McMillan, former Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, and current Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson are also believed to be under consideration.

Odds & Ends: Martin, Roy, Allen, Brooks

December 29th, 2012 at 8:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

If Kevin Martin has his way, anyone other than the Thunder will have a tough time signing him this summer, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The ninth-year veteran is averaging career bests in three point shooting (45.7%) and free throw shooting (93.2%) in addition to producing 15.8 PPG in 30.0 MPG. He is currently in the final year of his contract, and is slated to make nearly $12.4MM this season. Here are some more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Despite recent reports that Phil Jackson wouldn't be interested in coaching the Nets, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops talks about why we probably haven't seen the last of the Zen Master just yet.
Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is confident about the front office's patience with him, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler tweeted that an Andrea Bargnani trade is inevitable since he is no longer in Toronto's long-term plans, and that the Raptors will only play him when he comes back in order to prove that he's healthy.
Kyler (via Twitter) also says that the Lakers aren't currently looking to trade any of their bench players and are more focused on continuing to establish rhythm, Bargnani's elbow injury effectively hurts any if not all of his trade value right now, and that the current feeling around Brooklyn is that P.J. Carlesimo will get a chance to finish the season if none of the candidates they want are available.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune shared some of David Kahn's comments on Brandon Roy's decision to undergo non-invasive treatment, noting that it would not be the same Regenokine therapy that Roy underwent last spring and that the upcoming process could take three to four weeks (Twitter links).
Shams Charania of RealGM says that Ray Allen was not contacted by the Bucks during the free agency period this past summer and admitted that he probably would not have considered a return to Milwaukee regardless.
Nets guard MarShon Brooks is hoping to capitalize on what appears to be a fresh start with coach P.J. Carlesimo after not being able to mesh with Avery Johnson, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Without much practice time, Carlesimo will have to rely on much of the same offensive schemes that the Nets players have been familiar with up to this point along with additional help from the assistant coaches as he continues to make a transition into his interim head coaching role (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports).
While the departure of Joe Johnson might have signaled a rebuilding year to some, the Hawks' climb to 3rd place in the East after 27 games has definitely contradicted that notion, writes Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

Eastern Notes: Cousins, Nets, Hibbert

December 29th, 2012 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons reportedly have plenty of interest in DeMarcus Cousins, but Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News believes GM Joe Dumars has cooled on Cousins as Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond have developed (Twitter link). In another tweet, Goodwill asserts that Detroit won't be dealing any picks and thinks that the Celtics could offer Rajon Rondo in what would be the most attractive trade package for Sacramento. With that aside, here are a few more links we've gathered up out of the Eastern Conference tonight:

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes the Raptors would have to bite if the Kings offered Cousins for Andrea Bargnani, but he's not optimistic Cousins can overcome his volatile personality (Twitter links).
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post dissects Mikhail Prokhorov's remarks to reporters on Friday, concluding that the Nets owner is sold on Phil Jackson and would entertain keeping P.J. Carlesimo for the rest of the season if he can't get the Zen Master of Jeff Van Gundy immediately.
Roy Hibbert got off to a disconcerting start this season after signing a four-year deal for the maximum in the offseason, but his play has picked up of late, as HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham chronicles.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes the Magic, at 12-16, have little chance of landing a high lottery pick, and writes that the team should set its sights on making the playoffs instead. Schmitz also speculates that Stan Van Gundy's next coaching job will be on the West Coast, and doesn't foresee Phil Jackson taking the Nets job.
In a Q&A with The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer, Cavaliers guard Shaun Livingston discusses the career-altering injury he suffered six years ago, being cut by the Rockets, and playing alongside Kyrie Irving.

Latest On Phil Jackson, Nets

December 28th, 2012 at 11:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game reported earlier tonight that if Phil Jackson coaches the Nets, it probably won't be this season, yet he remains the team's top candidate, and some of Jackson's friends indicated to Howard Beck of the New York Times that Jackson may indeed have interest in Brooklyn. At least two other teams have approached Jackson about roles that wouldn't include coaching, and "it is believed" he's considering those options, Beck writes.

Jackson's agent Todd Musburger said Thursday that his client has no interest in the Nets opening, but Musburger's statement, which came in the form of a text to TNT's David Aldridge, included the caveat that there was no interest "at this time," and that's been widely interpreted as a hedge, according to Beck. Jackson's friends said money isn't a priority for Jackson, who doesn't expect to equal the $12MM he received in his final season with the Lakers. He instead will seek a role in player personnel decisions and may seek a promise of a front-office job once he retires from coaching. One friend said Jackson wants to make sure any team he coaches has a "path to the championship."

The Nets won't look at any other candidates until they've determined whether Jackson wants the job, Beck notes. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov gave his support to interim coach P.J. Carlesimo this evening, and while Carlesimo characterized himself as "assistant that's minding the store," he didn't rule out the idea of permanently taking over if the owner is willing to discuss the idea.

"Am I anxious to hear what he's got to say? Of course . . . I certainly don't want to lobby for it or anything like that. I'm sorry that I'm in this position right now. I'm very happy to be coaching in the NBA, but I'm sorry that I'm the one sitting up here right now," Carlesimo said, as Newsday's Roderick Boone documents.

Nets Fire Avery Johnson

December 27th, 2012 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

12:09pm: Assistant P.J. Carlesimo has been named the Nets' interim head coach, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

11:58am: A poor showing in December has cost a head coach his job. After a 3-10 record this month brought the team's record back to .500, the Nets have fired coach Avery Johnson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com reported earlier today that Johnson could be let go before tomorrow night's game.

"The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and to wish him every success in the future," said Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov in a statement confirming Johnson's dismissal.

Johnson, who was in his third season as coach of the Nets, was named Coach of the Month for November just a few weeks ago. Since then, however, not much has gone right in Brooklyn. Kris Humphries has fallen out of the rotation, Deron Williams has publicly questioned the team's offensive system, and most recently, Gerald Wallace expressed displeasure in the club's performance.

At 14-14, Johnson was well on his way to leading the Nets to their best season since he took over, after the team averaged just 23 wins in his two previous seasons. However, after the organization committed well over $200MM+ to free agents and took on Joe Johnson's $89MM contract this summer, expectations in Brooklyn had increased significantly.