Avery tells why he chose Nets over Hawks

[NJHAWK]

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/netsblog/thorn_is_reason_avery_took_nets_s9WOfpggM3nUR8nUg6sSUO

:snowballfight: Is he throwing snowballs at Sund or Gearon here?

[macdaddy]

http://www.nypost.co...gM3nUR8nUg6sSUO

Is he throwing snowballs at Sund or Gearon here?

Sund i think. There is still nothing really to indicate that the Hawks wanted to hire him. Whenever you're hired you have to say 'oh this was absolutely my first choice, dream job, blah, blah blah'

[sturt]

"There already are so many good pieces in place and more are coming."

You can talk Rod Thorn, "the man's man," all you want, but it's not about what anyone asked you in an interview or didn't ask you... it's what players Rod Thorn is telling you he's going to drop in your lap. That's all there is to it.

Well, that, and the fact that the Hawks weren't ready to make you an offer before the Nets were.

[TheTruth]

I think Avery's decision was simple. With the Nets, he won't have nearly as much pressure to perform as he would here in ATL. The Nets won 12 games last year. 12. However, they do have the #3 pick, a ton of cap space to sign a max player, Devin Harris, Lopez, and a billionaire owner with tons of buzz, energy, and likely a willingness to open his wallet to win--ESPECIALLY after that "playoffs this year, championship in no more than 5 (or was it 3) years." Those are a lot of attractive pieces that will help secure his job for a few years.

The Hawks, on the other hand, have fractured ownership, have just won 53 games, are looking for someone to put them over the postseason hump, uncertainty regarding whether the Hawks' best player will come back in FA, minuscule cap space, a very top heavy rotation, no legit starting PG, a GM nearing retirement, and ownership nearly universally regarded as cheap.

If I were him, I'd probably choose the Nets too.

Makes too much sense.

[macdaddy]

So we've gone from the team so bad no one wanted to be here to a team so good that no one wants to be here?

When coaching a 12 win New Jersey team is more attractive than a 53 win Atlanta team (probably the youngest team out of the top 8 teams in the league) then we've got real problems. I think the Hawks didn't want him.

[lethalweapon3]

Avery used the Hawks and Hornets merely to up his value for the Nets' contract.

He needed to show he was in demand elsewhere in the league, but placed unreasonable demands on the Hornets (insisting on a player-personnel role from the GM while the ownership situation was still unsettled). He maintained a high national profile on ESPN while interviewing multiple times with the Hawks. In New Jersey, Thorn and the Russian owner wanted either him or Coach K, who was going to turn down the offer anyway. Here, the GM had him competing in the mix with Mark Jackson, Dean Demosnuffalupagus, Dwane Casey... three interviews and no word or sense that an offer was made.

Why Jersey? More money, more stable ownership, more room to renegotiate later if desired, higher-profile media market supporting any related business pursuits. And one team has a chance to lose Joe Johnson, while another has a shot at getting LeBron James.

If you remember the night LeBron lost to the Celts in Cleveland, he and Jamal Mashburn were asked to predict LeBron's likely destination, and Avery was all over New Jersey. Rattled off like six reasons LeBron should go there over anyplace else. He was recruiting because he was in a perfect position to do so.

Only a monumental collapse would keep him from being the coach when the team moves to Brooklyn. Win 36 games next year with the Nets and their fans will be satisfied. When 46 games next year with the Hawks and their fans will be calling for his head already.

~lw3

[Seano]

You can talk Rod Thorn, "the man's man," all you want, but it's not about what anyone asked you in an interview or didn't ask you... it's what players Rod Thorn is telling you he's going to drop in your lap. That's all there is to it.

Well, that, and the fact that the Hawks weren't ready to make you an offer before the Nets were.

Well, that and the fact that the Russian billionaire is known for paying top-dollar for upper level management in all his businesses. If there's a talented executive (or in this case, coach) he wants to hire, Prokhorov does not hesitate for even one moment to open up the wallet and compensate that individual exceedingly generously, and he already indicated as much regarding the Nets during his interview on 60 Minutes. He's very driven and very serious about wanting to win, and wanting to build the Nets into an organization that is from front of the office to the lowest ball-boy, an organization to be envied around the league and around the world, and he is more than willing to put however much money it might take into accomplishing that goal. So I'm sure that probably had a 'little' something to do with Avery deciding to sign there, ayup.

I wish we had an owner like the big Russian, that's for sure. Boy that would make life exciting again, and just raise hope and possibility right up through the roof again.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

I think there was much talk on this board about this. I guess we will see how it works out without all the nice talking :whistling:

One of those pieces in place, of course, is Devin Harris, who as a young point guard helped Johnson mold that highest-ever .735 coaching percentage in Dallas where the "Li'l General" ran the coaching show for three-plus seasons.

Harris, at the time of their divorce when he came to the Nets in the deal for Jason Kidd, had some harsh words for Johnson who he said didn't give him enough freedom and rode him too hard.

"If I was too hard on him, I'll take that as a compliment," Johnson laughed, stressing his relationship with Harris is stronger than ever.

"He's one of my former Dallas guys I've really kept in close contact with," Johnson said. "We've been in contact a lot. We've had dinner together, he's been up to ESPN and we've had lunch together

[tonegully]

We were just dissed for a 12 win team. OMG.

Edited June 10, 2010 by tonegully

[justin31]

i'd probably vomit all over myself if the next hawks coach waxed romantic about his new team like that. that was gross.

[ATLSmith]

You know, accepting the coaching job with the Hawks takes some guts right now. The Hawks have a good record and the expectations to do the same or better are very high. You might not even have Joe Johnson to work with.

With a team like NJ, how can you not improve?

[99PROBL3MS]

You know, accepting the coaching job with the Hawks takes some guts right now. The Hawks have a good record and the expectations to do the same or better are very high. You might not even have Joe Johnson to work with.

With a team like NJ, how can you not improve?

Agreed, both Atlanta and Cleveland are in tough predicaments as far as a coaching search goes. Both are coming off very good seasons and the future of their teams best player is up in the air. Their are big shoes to fill there if Joe comes back to Atlanta and Lebron goes back to Cleveland. Anything less than last year will probably have fans a little ticked. Picking the right coach is crucial.

[KB21]

Agreed, both Atlanta and Cleveland are in tough predicaments as far as a coaching search goes. Both are coming off very good seasons and the future of their teams best player is up in the air. Their are big shoes to fill there if Joe comes back to Atlanta and Lebron goes back to Cleveland. Anything less than last year will probably have fans a little ticked. Picking the right coach is crucial.

IMO, there are a lot of coaches who could be the right guy. What's crucial is maximizing the talent on this team. If Joe comes back, whoever coaches this team needs to find a way to decrease his useage and minutes to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoffs while increasing the roles of Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and maybe even Josh Childress in this offense. I also think they need to decrease Jamal Crawford's useage when he is on the floor. Both Crawford and Johnson have the skills to impact the game without having to be isolated.

The next coach has to be a communicator as well. He has to be able to get the players on this team to buy into playing defense first.

[99PROBL3MS]

IMO, there are a lot of coaches who could be the right guy. What's crucial is maximizing the talent on this team. If Joe comes back, whoever coaches this team needs to find a way to decrease his useage and minutes to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoffs while increasing the roles of Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and maybe even Josh Childress in this offense. I also think they need to decrease Jamal Crawford's useage when he is on the floor. Both Crawford and Johnson have the skills to impact the game without having to be isolated.

The next coach has to be a communicator as well. He has to be able to get the players on this team to buy into playing defense first.

I agree about maximizing their skills. I don't think it is the minutes as much as it is the usage though. Having to serve as the primary ballhandler, distributor, creator, scorer, AND stopper when necessary on defense is hell. This team is so Jekyl and Hyde. Lol. Joe can still get his 20-25pts per game without having to do so much. It will be interesting to see what the new coach brings on that end. I think defensively it was just focus and effort. Doc Rivers team switches just as much as us but they play with MUCH more focus and effort.