After their first round Eastern Conference loss to the Chicago Bulls of the NBA playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets fired interim coach P.J. Carlesimo Sunday morning.
After taking over for former coach Avery Johnson, Carlesimo lead the Nets to a 49-33 regular season record, but fell short in their series against the Bulls. While there were no guarantees that Carlesimo would return, it comes as a surprise to many that general manager Billy King wasted little to no time in making his decision.
The consensus around the people in the know is that King will likely pursue former Houston Rockets head coach and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy while Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov will likely be concentrating his focus on bring former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson on board.
Jackson has been linked to various vacant coaching positions in the NBA, but has recently agreed to serve as an adviser to the Detroit Pistons as they search for new coach.
Team president Joe Dumars and the ownership group led by Tom Gores hired Jackson to "provide advice and counsel on the coaching search and immediate basketball needs."
"Phil Jackson is a friend and one of the best minds in the business," Gores said. "We are thrilled to have him as an adviser as we make some very important decisions for this franchise. Joe and I discussed this, and he and I are in full agreement that this is a great opportunity."
Gores added, "Phil Jackson is a friend and one of the best minds in the business. We are thrilled to have him as an adviser as we make some very important decisions for this franchise. Joe (Dumars) and I discussed this and he and I are in full agreement that this is a great opportunity."
Jackson, 11-time NBA Hall of Fame coach, left the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011. He won his 11 titles with six of them coming during his time with the Chicago Bulls and five coming with the Lakers.
"Tom and I discussed using a consultant as part of our decision-making process in our search for a head coach and we feel that Phil Jackson is a great resource to use," Pistons President Joe Dumars said. "I look forward to talking with Phil next week."
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