The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and showing no signs of life as they sit in last place in the conference. That is not what the ownership expected after putting together a pay roll that is the most expensive in the league. As blame starts to fall for the extremely slow start, the Nets ownership is putting their full support into first-time head coach, Jason Kidd.
ESPN.com reports that owner Mikhail Prokhorov is fully supporting Kidd as the head coach of the Nets despite the team sitting in 14th place in the Eastern conference with a $190 million pay roll. The owner is currently placing blame on injuries to point guard Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry as the primary reason for the terrible start.
Sources are reporting that there is a riff between Kidd and lead assistant Lawrence Frank that could be leading to the team woes. ESPNNewYork.com says among the initial concerns are "philosophical differences" between the two, but both are denying any issues. Frank had been considered the ideal assistant to help Kidd in his first coaching experience. He played the same role for Vinny Del Negro when he first started out coaching.
Not only is the ownership backing Kidd despite the call for firing rumors, but most of the veteran players have spoken out saying the losses fall on them and not the head coach.
"Dismal. No one's happy about how we're playing. No one likes the current state. But everybody's willing and committed towards changing it. The way you change it is through work, and that's what we're doing,'' Kevin Garnett said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "The blame's on all of us. It's not just on Jason. You can't put the [blame] all on him. We're players who obviously have to be professional, come out here and do our jobs.''
Paul Pierce came out and echoed the words of Garnett. He stressed that the team is very unhappy with the way things are failing to progress, but the team is fully in support of one another and they will figure things out. He said that everyone is being held accountable right now and the blame cannot completely fall on the coaches.
Kidd has certainly made a few questionable coaching calls. He has taken blame for leaving the starters in too long and not utilizing the bench enough. He then failed to sub people back in when the score got tight. The ownership grouping may be saying Kidd is safe for now, but it can be assumed that might not hold true if the losses continue to stack up. Avery Johnson failed to get a long cushion and Kidd could get the same treatment.
