Avery Johnson Fired As Brooklyn Nets Continue To Struggle, Details
The Brooklyn Nets announced on Thursday that head coach Avery Johnson is being fired and speculation is out there that the team's assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo would be named the interim coach.
The Net's General Manager Billy King announced Johnson's firing today and said the team will begin a search for a new head coach immediately. P.J. Carlesimo, the ex-Thunder coach, will replace Johnson for now, according to a report by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
"The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and wish him every success in the future," said Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov in a statement Thursday.
Johnson became the scapegoat for Brooklyn's 3-10 skid this month, which currently has the team at the .500 mark (14-14). Amid the Nets' struggles include blowout defeats to both the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.
On the very same day that Brooklyn was dominated by the Celtics on Christmas, CEO Brett Yormark took to Twitter to express his frustrations by posting, "We all need to work harder to find a solution."
To top off the Nets' performance woes, the offense was even openly criticized by superstar Deron Williams, which invoked Johnson to switch up nearly half of his offensive approach, seemingly indicating that he was unsure of his very own scoring approach.
The now former coach also made controversial changes to the starting five, benching Kris Humphries, who signed a three-year $24 million dollar contract in July.
Although Johnson was pressured to execute, the Net's top brass did shell out over $330 million dollars in contracts during the off-season in order to maximize its move to the $1 billion dollar Barclays Center.
Johnson, who at one point in time held the highest winning percentage in NBA history, compiled a 60-116 mark in a little over two seasons for the Nets. He was in the final season of a three-year contract paying him an estimated 12 million.
The Nets will next take the court against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
