duncan228
03-30-2010, 02:59 PM
Jeff Van Gundy Reportedly the Nets’ Top Choice as Coach This Summer (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-jeffvangundyreported&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews
Jeff Van Gundy is a beloved broadcaster for his humor, knowledge of the game, and existence as someone other than Mark Jackson. If you remember way back to 2007, though, he’s also a pretty good coach with a reputation for building strong defensive teams.
The Nets may have won their 10th game of the season last night to avoid becoming the worst team in league history, but even milestones like that one can’t obscure the fact that they need a lot of help. Accordingly, they’ve targeted Van Gundy as their top choice (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Atuqd67geX7_qMgQ0m0HqcqzvLYF?slug=aw-nets033110) for the coaching job this summer, according to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources say the chances of landing top choice, Jeff Van Gundy, are improved with [Rod] Thorn staying on the job. Van Gundy hadn’t planned to return to coaching next season, but the Nets believe he’ll be willing to listen to a pitch. They want to talk to Villanova’s Jay Wright, too, but he’s turned down big offers from the 76ers and Kentucky in the past two years, and a close friend of his on Monday said, “It would surprise me if he talks [seriously] to them, unless maybe he needs the leverage at Villanova.”
One sleeper for the Nets job: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. While Izzo probably can’t be lured with the collegiate money grab at Oregon, the NBA has never stopped intriguing him.
Oh yeah, there are also those college names. Wright and Izzo are listed in so many of these coach-search articles that I’d prefer not to discuss them until things get serious. Let’s not blow it out of proportion quite yet.
If Van Gundy wants to get back into coaching, he could certainly do worse than the Nets. Despite their record, they have a nice foundation with budding star Brook Lopez in the middle, Devin Harris at the point (for now, at least), and a high-lottery pick on its way in June. Plus there’s the matter of their new owner Mikhail Prokhorov (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/60959/mikhail_prokhorov_makes_himself_known_to_america), who will join Portland’s Paul Allen as one of the two richest owners in the league when he takes over this summer.
It’ll take some time to repair the damage in New Jersey, but the raw material is there.
SportingNews
Jeff Van Gundy is a beloved broadcaster for his humor, knowledge of the game, and existence as someone other than Mark Jackson. If you remember way back to 2007, though, he’s also a pretty good coach with a reputation for building strong defensive teams.
The Nets may have won their 10th game of the season last night to avoid becoming the worst team in league history, but even milestones like that one can’t obscure the fact that they need a lot of help. Accordingly, they’ve targeted Van Gundy as their top choice (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Atuqd67geX7_qMgQ0m0HqcqzvLYF?slug=aw-nets033110) for the coaching job this summer, according to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources say the chances of landing top choice, Jeff Van Gundy, are improved with [Rod] Thorn staying on the job. Van Gundy hadn’t planned to return to coaching next season, but the Nets believe he’ll be willing to listen to a pitch. They want to talk to Villanova’s Jay Wright, too, but he’s turned down big offers from the 76ers and Kentucky in the past two years, and a close friend of his on Monday said, “It would surprise me if he talks [seriously] to them, unless maybe he needs the leverage at Villanova.”
One sleeper for the Nets job: Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. While Izzo probably can’t be lured with the collegiate money grab at Oregon, the NBA has never stopped intriguing him.
Oh yeah, there are also those college names. Wright and Izzo are listed in so many of these coach-search articles that I’d prefer not to discuss them until things get serious. Let’s not blow it out of proportion quite yet.
If Van Gundy wants to get back into coaching, he could certainly do worse than the Nets. Despite their record, they have a nice foundation with budding star Brook Lopez in the middle, Devin Harris at the point (for now, at least), and a high-lottery pick on its way in June. Plus there’s the matter of their new owner Mikhail Prokhorov (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/60959/mikhail_prokhorov_makes_himself_known_to_america), who will join Portland’s Paul Allen as one of the two richest owners in the league when he takes over this summer.
It’ll take some time to repair the damage in New Jersey, but the raw material is there.