Brooklyn Nets Fire Avery Johnson After 14-14 Start [Update: Andray Blatche Calls Move "Cray"]

All, NBA Stephen Douglas December 27th. 2012, 1:09pm

The Brooklyn Nets have fired coach Avery Johnson, league source tells Yahoo! Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 27, 2012

The Brooklyn Nets have fired Avery Johnson according to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nets are currently 14-14, 6.5 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game ahead of the 76ers. The Nets have been one of the league’s biggest disappointments this year. They moved to Brooklyn, called Jay-Z an owner, signed a bunch of players fans had heard of and got new uniforms, but none of that has translated into wins at a pace thought acceptable. Meanwhile, the Knicks are 21-8 with much older and less sought-after acquisitions. Maybe they can trade for Dwight Howard?

Update: Andray Blatche, who is having a solid season coming off the bench seems surprised by the move.

@brooklynnets @bkdefend wow this is cray
— andray blatche (@drayblatche) December 27, 2012

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41 Responses to “Brooklyn Nets Fire Avery Johnson After 14-14 Start [Update: Andray Blatche Calls Move "Cray"]”

1
scripty Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Deron killing more coaches than time.
2
roastbeast Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:13 PM
this like the mets and yankees or giants-jets, where ownership strategizes/reacts to other side of town?
3
Poindexter Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:17 PM
Deron killing more coaches than time.
“I tried to tell ‘em”
-Jerry Sloan
4
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:24 PM
Deron killing more coaches than time.
That’s an incorrect assessment. Johnson is an incompetent coach. I’ve been calling for his firing for a solid two weeks. Well done by Prokhorov. Unfortunately for him, I think this move will just expose the reality that Billy King needs to go too, as the personnel is mediocre
5
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Brroooook Lynnnnnn
6
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Brroooook Lynnnnnn
7
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:25 PM
this like the mets and yankees or giants-jets, where ownership strategizes/reacts to other side of town?
Could be, but in this instance the firing was totally justified. Carlesimo is a vastly superior coach
/I’m assuming he’ll get the interim job
8
starkweather Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:32 PM
This is unfair. Avery Johnson didn’t design their shitty jerseys.
9
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:35 PM
This is unfair. Avery Johnson didn’t design their shitty jerseys.
How dare you!!
/supports Nets jerseys b/c they didn’t opt for a played-out color scheme. Similar to Spurs, but any choice that excluded blue or red was fine by me
10
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:41 PM
Could be, but in this instance the firing was totally justified. Carlesimo is a vastly superior coach
Carlesimo hasn’t exhibited anything in his NBA coaching career that signifies he is vastly superior to anyone. The Nets were 11-4 and Lopez was injured. They haven’t recovered from that even as he returned to the lineup. Their guards aren’t producing, and they have no depth. Expectations about them were unrealistic from the start.
11
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:47 PM
Ben Franklin- we’ll disagree on the “vastly superior” thing, as I think a corpse would be too. A huge part of the lacking backcourt production was the horrific isolation-centric scheme Avery insisted on, as well as the snail’s pace he had them playing at. He also quickly destroyed his relationship with Williams by foolishly announcing Joe Johnson was his closer.
Agreed on the lack of depth and unrealistic expectations, considering Lopez and Wallace are among the most overrated players in the league
12
Curtis the Close talker Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:51 PM
Carlesimo is a vastly superior coach
Oh good god no. This idiot had Durant playing shooting guard as a rookie. It worked out for OKC though cause his terrible coaching got them Westbrook.
13
starkweather Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Carlesimo is a choker
14
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Carlesimo is a chokee
Close talker- Durant essentially still plays a lot of two guard. Sefolosha isn’t a natural two guard, so when they play together Durant is a two, for all intents and purposes
15
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 1:59 PM
A huge part of the lacking backcourt production was the horrific isolation-centric scheme Avery insisted on, as well as the snail’s pace he had them playing at.
The huge part of their lacking backcourt production is he has 2 guards who are used to dominating the ball, and have shown an inability to play well without the ball in their hands. Also, a snails pace is what that team is built to run; Williams, Johnson, Lopez, Wallace, Humphries, that isn’t a running lineup.
16
arkbadger Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:01 PM
it should not be acceptable for a grown man to use the word ‘cray’
17
Curtis the Close talker Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:01 PM
I guess on offense. But PJ had him defending and chasing little guards around screens.
18
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:04 PM
The huge part of their lacking backcourt production is he has 2 guards who are used to dominating the ball, and have shown an inability to play well without the ball in their hands. Also, a snails pace is what that team is built to run; Williams, Johnson, Lopez, Wallace, Humphries, that isn’t a running lineup.
Joe Johnson should’ve been forced to subjugate his game and play significant more off the ball. Any team can run opportunistically, whether it’s in traditional fast break form, or in the secondary break, like the Knicks have shown the propensity for this season. Hell, even the Celtics get a lot done on the secondary break. Again, any team can, and should, look to score in transition. There are too many cheaply available points to neglect
19
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:05 PM
But PJ had him defending and chasing little guards around screens.
Agree, that’s dumb.
20
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:07 PM
it should not be acceptable for a grown man to use the word ‘cray’
Do not make the mistake of calling Blatche a grown man. In a league of man-children, Blatche is among the most man-childest
21
Curtis the Close talker Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:16 PM
It’s a terribly put together roster. They’ve traded the #3, #3, #6 pick the last 3 years, in their thirst to get attention. So they could’ve had an exciting team with some combination of Favors, Kemba, Lillard, Brandon Knight, etc but they opted for this mess instead.
And the one trade they should’ve made: Lopez for Melo – they turned down. So so incompetent.
22
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:19 PM
And the one trade they should’ve made: Lopez for Melo – they turned down
I don’t understand why people think Stiff Lopez is good. Yes, he is tall and young, but that’s about it
23
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:19 PM
Joe Johnson should’ve been forced to subjugate his game and play significant more off the ball. Any team can run opportunistically, whether it’s in traditional fast break form, or in the secondary break, like the Knicks have shown the propensity for this season. Hell, even the Celtics get a lot done on the secondary break. Again, any team can, and should, look to score in transition. There are too many cheaply available points to neglect
a 22 win team doesn’t trade for an All Star caliber player in order to have that player subjugate his game. What is “vastly” easier to do than run a secondary break is to have 2 guards play off of each other. That’s something that can be done on every possession, and it’s basic, basic basketball all the way down to the playground level. It’s all about a willingness to do so, and I have a feeling the lack of will emanates from the guy who was angry about being told he wasn’t the closer, and who happened to complain about not being used to operate without having a play called. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a baller complain about that.
24
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:25 PM
I don’t support Williams’ public whining, but everything he’s said about too much iso, etc has been true.
Johnson is all-star caliber, but Williams has been among the league’s best players when playing well. He is simply a better player than Johnson, and the Nets’ attack should’ve been constructed accordingly
25
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Not to mention Williams is a natural point guard. Of course he should dominate the ball
26
Curtis the Close talker Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:31 PM
I don’t understand why people think Stiff Lopez is good
Yea he’s gaaa-bage. Been saying that since TBL was touting him, as a rookie.
27
oskie Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:40 PM
this roster is right where it should be. they are a below average to average team.
28
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:42 PM
Not to mention Williams is a natural point guard. Of course he should dominate the ball
Neither one of them should find it necessary to dominate the ball with the other one in the backcourt. That’s the problem. Also, if you’re dominating the ball, but aren’t drawing doubles and triples, it’s a wasted endeavor
29
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:44 PM
Neither one of them should find it necessary to dominate the ball with the other one in the backcourt. That’s the problem. Also, if you’re dominating the ball, but aren’t drawing doubles and triples, it’s a wasted endeavor
It’s a schematic issue. It should be a pick and roll oriented system, centered around Williams’ abilities to penetrate and pass.
this roster is right where it should be. they are a below average to average team.
There is no way this team should be worse than the Milwaukee Bucks
30
atlstylez Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Deron Williams is killing more coaches than cheeseburgers.
/just kidding
31
Tim Ryan Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Deron killing more coaches than time.
That’s an incorrect assessment.
Nah. ‘Twas correct.
32
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 2:56 PM
There is no way this team should be worse than the Milwaukee Bucks
why not?
33
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:01 PM
a schematic issue with running the pick and roll? If they turn into a pick and roll team, who is the predominant pick setter, Lopez? Humphries? If I’m the opposing team over the course of the season, I’ll take my chances and thank you for running that offense.
34
HtownHacker Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:03 PM
There is no way this team should be worse than the Milwaukee Bucks
Should the Celtics be?
35
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:12 PM
why not?
Because the Bucks’ personnel is horrible. They have no quality frontcourt players and the most shot-happy, no defense backcourt in memory
Should the Celtics be?
No, but the Celts have a reputation for coasting in the reg season.
who is the predominant pick setter, Lopez?
Yes, Lopez. This is the only way to get quality production from him. He has no post game whatsoever. Rolling to the rim and occasionally using his mediocre midrange shot on wide open looks is likely the best way to get anything from him
36
oskie Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:21 PM
They have no quality frontcourt players and the most shot-happy, no defense backcourt in memory
/looks at Nets
//looks at Bucks
///seriously?
37
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:34 PM
Rolling to the rim and occasionally using his mediocre midrange shot on wide open looks is likely the best way to get anything from him
and this is what Avery should have structured his offense around? Probably explains why he would run so many isos. That and the fact that most NBA offenses that include good players start off with some type of isolation play and running offense off of the defense’s reaction to the iso (i.e.) the Knicks and Heat.
38
sctrojans Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 3:50 PM
and this is what Avery should have structured his offense around?
Yes. Would’ve enabled Williams to get in the paint with better floor spacing and attract help. This is essentially how every team with a quality point guard operates. The Knicks and Heat are apples to oranges, as they operate through very different players
/looks at Nets
//looks at Bucks
///seriously?
In re “no defense”: Williams and Johnson have good size for their positions. Ellis and Jennings are undersized.
39
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 27th, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Yes. Would’ve enabled Williams to get in the paint with better floor spacing and attract help. This is essentially how every team with a quality point guard operates. The Knicks and Heat are apples to oranges, as they operate through very different players
There are better ways of attracting help without running offense that makes Brook Lopez a primary option. The pick and roll is supposed to work when you have 2 viable options. You force the defense to pick up on one, and the other person is supposed to be open to score. Lopez isn’t that kind of option that is going to provide the wide open lanes for Williams you speak of. Johnson and Williams are somewhat similar to James and Anthony in the aspect that they’re each physically strong for their positions. Post up opportunities for one of them has more of a chance to provide the driving opportunity for the other and others than a pick and roll offense involving Brook Lopez ever would.
40
nmichave Says:
December 28th, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Who gives a shit. The NBA is horseshit basketball.
41
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
December 28th, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Who gives a shit. The NBA is horseshit basketball.
You do. The NBA is the best basketball league, where they play the best basketball in the world.