(PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images.)
The Brooklyn Nets are making some changes. Here is what happened, according to NBA.Com:
The Brooklyn Nets today reassigned General Manager Billy King within the organization and have parted ways with Head Coach Lionel Hollins.
For the remainder of this season, Assistant Coach Tony Brown will serve as interim head coach. The GM position will remain open until a replacement is named.
Lionel Hollins took the coaching reins before the 2014-15 season when Jason Kidd left to go coach the Bucks. Hollins helped the Nets get to the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks in six games. Hollins had a 48-71 record overall with the Nets. Before that, Lionel Hollins was coaching the Memphis Grizzlies. He helped the Grizzlies get to the Western Conference Finals in his last year as coach there. Overall, Hollins has a 262-272 record (.491).
Billy King has been reassigned within the organization and that apparently includes looking for his successor as general manager. He was mostly told by owner Mikhail Prokhorov to build a contender as fast as possible. King helped orchestrate the surprising Deron Williams deal right after he was hired in 2010. He also tried quick fixes by trading for veterans like Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. But King also hamstrung the future by trading several draft picks away, including this year’s first-round pick (which went to Boston). King was also previously the general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Who is Tony Brown? He played in the NBA for seven seasons and has been an NBA assistant coach since 1997. Before going to the Nets as an assistant, he was under Rick Carlisle‘s staff in Dallas. He will be coaching the rest of the season and this mess goes beyond that.
The Nets don’t have many options for the next few years. They don’t have this year’s first-round pick and 2018 and their 2017 first-round pick has the option to be swapped due to that big trade with Boston that included Pierce and Garnett.
Good luck cleaning this up, Brooklyn.
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