The New Jersey Nets have reached an agreement in principle with former Mavericks head coach and current television analyst Avery Johnson, ESPN reported Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson, who is currently covering the 2010 NBA Finals for ESPN, was also a finalist for the Atlanta Hawks coaching vacancy. He met with Atlanta GM Rick Sund on Saturday, but was not offered the job at that time.
After Johnson took over as coach for Don Nelson in Dallas several years ago, the former NBA point guard posted an impressive 194-70 record during three seasons on the bench. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2005 and led the Mavericks to the 2006 NBA Finals.
Johnson’s fortunes began to turn after the Heat rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Mavs in six games. He was relieved of his duties in 2008 and has spent the last three years working for ESPN.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has high hopes for the franchise next season and will undoubtedly be active in the free-agent market this summer. Even if the Nets don’t manage to sign LeBron James, they will likely have the opportunity to land a big-name free agent.
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Article written by Elliott Pohnl
Avery Johnson Agrees to Coach New Jersey Nets
June 9th, 2010 by Elliott Pohnl Leave a reply »
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