Nets' Interim Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo Steps Up to Challenge

After Head Coach Avery Johnson Was Fired in Late December, Carlesimo Has Turned the Nets Around

By Ali Koskoris

After a strong 11-4 start to the 2012-2013 season, the Brooklyn Nets hit a slump, losing ten of their next thirteen games.  In response to the losses, general manager Billy King and owner Mikhail Prokhorov fired head coach Avery Johnson on December 27^th.

AP Photo/ Kathy Willens

“With the direction we were going, we felt we had to make a change,” King said in an interview with the Associated Press.  He replaced Johnson with Assistant Coach P.J. Carlesimo on an interim basis.

Since taking over the job, Brooklyn has gone 10-2 and is just two games behind the New York Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division. 

Despite Carlesimo’s success, he still holds the “interim” title.  Many fans and even some players think that “interim” should be removed and that Carlesimo should finish out the season as the head coach of the Nets.  If Carlesimo can keep Brooklyn hot, it is very plausible that he will keep the job until the end of the season. 

The modest Carlesimo does not have much to say on the topic, just that “it wouldn’t be any different [to him] if they gave [him] a 10-year extension or told [him they’re] not going to meet again until the end of the year… the players are great, they’ve responded.”

Carlesimo has spent many years in the basketball business.  He began playing for Fordham University and became an assistant coach while playing.  He then became the successful head coach for a few different college teams, and has spent 18 years in the NBA, head-coaching for a few teams before landing his assistant-coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets.

As the interim head coach of the Nets, Carlesimo is using his good and bad experiences to help Brooklyn improve.  “He’s done a great job coaching us,” says Nets’ star Deron Williams, whose play has improved significantly since the change.

It should be interesting to see what happens if the Nets keep on winning.  Rumors have spread that Brooklyn’s owner is looking into asking Phil Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy to coach his team.  Yet, if the Nets are successful this season, Prokhorov might want to keep Carlesimo.