Avery Johnson fired as Nets coach

Avery Johnson has been fired as the head coach of the first-year Brooklyn Nets. The Nets have lost 10 of their last 13 games, which puts them at .500 on the year (14-14) and 6.5 games behind the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the NBA. The Knicks are at the top of the division at 21-8 (.724)

There has been a groundswell of displeasure with Johnson’s tenure with the Nets, internal and out, as even Nets’ CEO Brett Yormak commented recently on Twitter how disappointed he was with the club’s recent play. The Nets opened the season 11-4.

An interesting note to the story, Johnson was named NBA Coach of the Month in both October and November, yet lost his job in December. The old cliché “What have you done for me lately…” comes to mind here.

Reportedly the Nets have appointed assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo to interim head coach while they begin interviewing for their replacement.

This was Johnson’s third season with the Nets, formerly known as the NJ Nets, compiling a 60-116 record with the club. Prior to joining the Nets in 2010, he had two years off after a four-year run as the sideline leader for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006 he lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors.

As a player, Johnson started out in 1988 as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Supersonics, averaging 1.6 points per game. Over the next 10 years he progressed to a quality point guard that was averaging 13.1 points per game and 9.6 assists per game (ranked 3rd in the NBA) in 1995. In 1998-99 he helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Finals with a game and title winner in game five. He retired as a player while with the Mavericks in 2004 after a 16-year career, compiling an 8.4 points and 5.5 assists per game average on 1,054 games.